Moments In The Life
by KoolKat189
Summary: Prank wars? Sure! Party-crashing? No problem! Building snowmen and riding bikes around the hall? It's a cinch! These are only some of the occurrences, humorous and touching, in the lives of Anna and Elsa of Arendelle and their aquaintances. [A series of oneshots taking place post-movie]
1. Tell Me About It

Tell Me About It

 _One of the small perks of having a sister for a best friend is that she will never hesitate to hear you out..._

* * *

Princess Anna gaily skipped her way along the castle's staircase. When she reached the top, she abruptly stopped in front of the grand doorway that led to her sister's room.

Anna, aged eighteen, giggled like her five-year-old self again as she repeated the same tradition she followed all those years. She knocked loudly enough to catch her sister's attention and began singing in a sweet voice:

" _Do you want to build a snowman?_

 _Come on let's go and..."_

The girl's song was cut off when the door swung open, presenting her older sister in the doorway. She had bright blue eyes, white-blonde hair that hung in an elegant French braid over her shoulders, and, as the most lovely part of her features, a sisterly and caring smile. Right now, with the spring slowly turning into summer in the kingdom of Arendelle, she currently wore a loose off-the-shoulder blue-green spring dress with a sequined bodice and a lightweight knee-length hemline. Yes, there was no doubt about it – now, with her ice powers under complete control, Elsa had changed, and so had the life around her and her sister Anna.

"Oh, Anna," she gently chided at the sight of Anna's disheveled appearance. " _Why_ do you always show up in such a messy state?" Elsa spoke the truth – large chunks of Anna's hair, regularly pinned in a neat braided updo, hung loosely around her shoulders; bits of twig and leaves jutted out from every side. The hem of her gorgeous spring dress and her stockings were caked in dry mud and – Elsa frowned slightly when she peered over Anna's shoulder – did Anna just track mud on the floor when she came up here?

"Having fun in the sun again, aren't you?" Elsa clicked her tongue partly from amusement, partly from annoyance.

"Yes!" Anna's recently tanned shoulders quivered with delight as she proceeded. "I visited Kristoff up in the mountains today! Kristoff was so grateful that I came; he showed me where he lives and how he earns a living – he harvests ice, you know!" Anna lowered her hand to the side of her mouth to express how amazing she thought that was. " Then he let me feed Sven carrots which was kind of cute but I think Kristoff got bored-"

"You mean you talked him to death again?" Rolling her eyes in amusement, Elsa leaned against the doorway, ready for another one of Anna's chatter and very possibly, the tall tales she was about to relate.

"Wellll...I guess you can say that...because he invited me to ride with him to Oaken's and oh, to think that today it was SO romantic...ahhh..."

"But he takes you to Oaken's every other day! Isn't that what you two lovebirds are always doing?"

"But today was extra special, because guess what? He also showed me something he's been working on for months!"

"Annnd...?"

"Two ice sculptures that he's specially designed all by himself! A _perfect_ replica of me and Kristoff together! Goodness, I cant believe all the time he's spent working on it; so I was about to turn to dear Kristoff and tell him how much I loved him for this when we heard those huge foot-stomps from the forest, which turned out be Marshmallow. And when he saw us he was like 'Grrr!' and we were like 'Aaaahhh!'" Anna babbled on breathlessly. "Then what do you know? As we rode away, Marshmallow smashed our statue in a lame attempt to get us..." Anna's lip hung at the memory, but she instantly brightened again. " Kristoff was sad, but I told him the only thing that mattered was him and cheered up again!"

"Ahah," Elsa nodded in acknowledgment. "I'll go talk to that Marshmallow bear soon as I can."

"It's ok, he's actually a sweetie once he gets to know you," Elsa said assuredly in response to Anna's terrified expression. "But if you were up in the snow, it still doesn't explain how you ended up in such a – er, unprincessy-like state."

"Oh, that," Anna burst out laughing. " Kristoff was busy, so after our little date I went sledding with Olaf on those cute little snow hills! And not just! All your little snowgies joined us too! The bummer thing is," Anna shrugged, " with the spring and all, it got so slushy I slipped off my sleigh and face-planted the mud piles at the bottom! And the funny part is, Olaf and all the snowgies came tumblin' right after me, so I'm not the only one in such a, um, mess. But yea, I don't think Olaf minded. He asked me what mud was!"

"I see," Elsa couldn't suppress a little smile as the thought of Olaf, that jolly snowman who loved hugs, passed through her mind. "Well, you must have a reason to drop by, besides chatting. What brings you here?"

"Well, why else?" Anna splayed her hands up with a jokingly exasperated air. " To spend time with _you_!"

"Oh, Anna, I know. But I just spent five minutes listening to you! And that's already more than enough time away from my work. After all, I am the queen, remember?" And through Elsa's guilty yet understanding smile, the usual regal posture in her that befitted her ever so perfectly came out in her once more. Anna couldn't imagine being in Elsa's shoes for one day, let alone one moment during the isolation she endured all those years.

"Yea, well..." Anna shuffled awkwardly. "I know how busy you are, and we don't spend as much time as I – we – would have wanted."

"Of course. I know how much you want this. And while shutting you out is the last thing I want to do, speaking for myself, I will make it up to you so that one day, we can be in each others' company all day. Trust me," Elsa told her sadly smiling sister, hoping she would understand.

Lucky for Elsa, Anna was an understanding soul. "Ok!"

She turned to Elsa as though to hug her but instantly drew away when she noticed Elsa squirm uncomfortably at the sight of Anna's muddy frock. Instead, Anna waved a cheery goodbye to Elsa before backing out into the hallway and skipping off to who knew where. Not as if Anna was off the hook from princess duties; she also studied hard and helped Elsa reign the kingdom; but Elsa didn't have to look deeper before she figured that her younger sister liked to procrastinate.

Elsa stared long at Anna's disappearing figure down the corridor. Anna's dirty figure, that is. Then an idea struck Elsa.

 _Why haven't I thought of this before?_

Elsa raised her majestic sleek hand; magic in a state of ice crackled and formed in midair. She waved her hand at Anna, sending the blue streak of magic trailing after her. Elsa was pleased when she heard a gasp, then a delighted squeal at the other end of the corridor; the magic had done its work.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH, ELSA!"

Without another world Anna flew down the corridor to Elsa and threw her arms around her mildly bemused sister. Amid the moment of frantic scrabbling in a attempt to support the sudden weight hanging at her neck, Elsa looked over Anna's dress and admired the work. Yup, just like she imagined it to be: Anna was completely rinsed of the dirt, and as a bonus, sparkly blue spirals trailed around the dress.

"You _will_ remember to change your clothes before hugging the queen, won't you?" Elsa said with an amused smirk.

* * *

Two o'clock in the morning. The sky glowed with the radiance of multicolored auroras dancing outside of Elsa's window. But Elsa didn't take notice. Right now, she was slumped against the desk with stacks of books, inkwells, quills and various parchments piled up beside her reposing head. It had been a weary day; Elsa spent hours in confrontation with irritable authorities sent by the Duke of Weselton. After a previous scandal, he and his thugs were sent back to their own country with a proclamation that Arendelle has cut ties with him in trade. Apparently the Duke couldn't take no for an answer. Nasty business ensued. It took Elsa several hours, and a good amount of temper control on her part, to get her message across: no trading. That, and she spent the rest of the evening in her room, her preferred place of work, writing a plead to the local advisors and legislature on why snowmen shouldn't be banned, hurt or swept off for scientific investigation in general. Cute friendly innocent snowmen who could walk, talk and freely associate with the citizens, that is. And Olaf, not to mention the rampant snowgies, definitely made the top of her list.

And there was so much more to ruling a kingdom, excluding those factors...

 _Knock knock knock._

Elsa jerked awake. Lifting her head groggily, she vaguely wondered who was calling in so late. She glanced at the grandfather clock – a quarter past two.

"What?" she rasped.

No answer.

Elsa drowsily got up and slowly opened the door a crack. There stood Anna, who looked a mite hesitant but determined.

"I-I just want to say goodnight, since you stay up so late," she said, shivering slightly in the wake of the gentle sliver of light pouring from the doorway. She looked up expectantly at Elsa for a reply.

Elsa's disgruntled face lit up. What a relieving change – her sister was kind enough to stop by. But wait – what was that?

Through her younger sister's shy smile, Elsa could observe her red blotchy face, not to mention dark wet spots that stained her silk nightgown.

Something was not right with Anna, that much was clear.

"What's wrong?" Elsa's voice was full of concern.

Anna sniffed – tears welled in her eyes. "Well, it's nothing really...except in case you never knew this about me," she sniffed again, "I keep having nightmares. Dreadful ones. Where everyone I love has disappeared. AND I MISS YOU SO MUCH, AND I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT KRISTOFF AND HOW MUCH HE MUST MISS ME BY NOW- AND- A-A-NND..."

Anna needn't have said more. Elsa took hold of her now shaking sister's hands and tenderly wrapped her arms and warm cape around the sobbing figure. Anna's tears were now streaming as she buried her tear-streaked face into her guardian's shoulder.

"There, there...Elsa murmured, stroking the figure's back as comfortingly as she could. " Just because I can't always see you doesn't mean I won't _always_ be here whenever you need hearing out."

"Oka-a-ay..." a shaky sob answered her. "I j-just – thought..."

"Well, now you know."

Then another idea struck Elsa.

She lowered herself to Anna's level and lightly shook her by the shoulders.

"Hey Anna...want to build a snowman?"

* * *

"I can't _believe_ I don't remember this...whee-hee!" With another squeal of delight, Anna threw herself deep into a snowy pile and enthusiastically rolled off it before she plopped down, all covered in the cold fluff, and sighed contentedly. Elsa, now in the mood for a little fun herself, slid off a small snow hill and landed beside the happily reposing figure of Anna.

The two were in the grand ballroom, where Elsa "did the magic," as quoted by little Anna many years ago, by covering the entire ballroom floor with the fluffiest, whitest type of snow imaginable; raising several snow hills to act as the slides; and making snowflakes constantly flutter down from the high ceiling.

"So tell me again: was I really playing here with you when you accidentally cursed me?" Anna looked over at Elsa sitting next to her, as she formed snow angels in the freezing-cold goodness.

"Yes...this was when it all started." Elsa looked melancholy when she said this; that fateful day, many years ago, had served a bittersweet memory to her. However, the look was replaced with a determined smile. "But, this time I will _make sure_ nothing happens. No more jumping off snow hills, ok?"

"Whatever you say, Elsa!"

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, Elsa."

Sighing in relief, Elsa plopped down next to Anna. Neither said anything for a while. Each girl was thinking the same thing: the same situation that eventually separated the two happened to reunite them here.

And as though to guarantee that nothing would tear them apart again, Anna grasped Elsa's outlying hand; it tightened under her grip.

Nothing but _nothing_ would ever separate them again. Not their royal, if not boring, duties. Nor fear. Nor nightmares. Not even frozen hearts.

They will _always_ look after each other. And they will _always_ hear each other out whenever they needed to.

And within their silent vow, an everlasting magic greater than any other sealed and manifested itself in the hearts of the two girls, protecting them of any future incidents and misunderstandings they may ever have.

Love.

* * *

 **Annndd my first fanfic ever! Ya, I know, I'm still an amateur in fiction writing, so hopefully my writing skills will improve as I upload more stuff.**

 **Like, don't like...comment, review, whatev. Feel free to send me requests! Also, you are more than welcome to provide me feedback on my writing or tell me where I made a mistake. That would be helpful.**

 **Cheers!**

 **~KoolKat**


	2. History Lesson

History Lesson

 _If Anna and Elsa had a favorite subject..._

* * *

Elsa stuffed the quill back into its inkwell and lightly blew on her new project, drying it of any remainders of ink. After replacing several more candleholders with new candles, she analyzed her work by holding it up to the light, slightly frowning as she read through it. She set it back on her table and revised it by crossing out more sentences, more statements, more official notices, and in general, more of everything. As she worked late into the evening, she vaguely wondered if there was anyone else besides her who had to put up with such complicated, irksome, _boring_ jobs.

 _Knock knock – knock knock knock._

Anna.

Elsa discreetly smiled. Of course. Anna had made this special knock their signature one for each other.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, followed by a sound of hurrying footsteps approaching. "Hey, Elsa! What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing..." Elsa trailed off and resumed her work, her back faced towards Anna. "Though, I doubt you would come waltzing in without a reason. Is there a problem? Unless..." Elsa looked up at the clock. "Ten thirty?! Anna, what are doing out of bed? I thought I actually told you, you must be in bed by no later than ten! What is this?"

"Wellll...," Anna drawled hesitantly, "First of all, I couldn't sleep. And besides," Anna pulled a pretend pouty face, "why are you telling me? I'm old enough to manage. And YOU yourself don't go to bed till twelve, if I'm correct."

"Yes, Anna, but," Elsa sighed as she slung an arm over the armrest, "because I'm your older sister, as well as the queen, I know better. If I know how to rule a whole kingdom," she waved at the outlines of several buildings outside, "then I know how to manage my little sister. Now get some sleep, will you? You have a whole day ahead of you tomorrow."

"But I ca-a-an't slee-ee-eeep," Anna moaned; she carelessly rolled her eyes and shifted her weight on each foot restlessly as though to prove her statement.

Elsa put her head in both hands in frustration. "Anna! What did I tell you earlier about getting a good night's sleep for those who don't know how to manage their bedtime yet?"

"Oh all right, all right." she sighed again as she gave in to Anna's pleading puppy-dog eyes. "Five more minutes only. Then you go straight back, understand?

"Yes!"

Elsa resumed her scribbling, and Anna strode around the room in curiosity. Come to think of it, she rarely ever visited Elsa's own bedroom. Would be worth exploring sometime.

Anna silently crept up to Elsa, who was too caught up in her writing to take any further notice of her little sister.

"Whatcha doin'?" Like a little child, Anna stood up on her tiptoes and peeked over Elsa's shoulder. Elsa, who was growing increasingly exhausted with her amount of work, decided to direct her attention to something else for a change. She laid down her quill, chin resting on palm, and said absentmindedly, "Oh that? Nothing, nothing...nothing that would interest you, I guess." She shrugged.

"But do tell me. What is it? Looks so," Anna questioningly placed her forefinger on the side of her cheek, " _formal._ "

"Well, if you really want to know..." Elsa shuffled some binder paper together. "Economics. As queen, it is essential that I check the finances and market stability in this country. Like monetary policy. Currently I'm signing, passing, and requesting documents that promote the goals of maximum employment and moderate high-term interest rates so that-"

"Oooh, what's that?" Anna ran a hand through several stray books, having already lost interest in this economy business from the start. _"Public Sector: The Role of Manufacturing in Arendelle Economy...The Official Guidelines to Foreign Investment...The Nordic Kingdom: A Systems Approach..._ Whoa." Anna make a face. "I don't know what _I'd_ do if I was assigned those things! Come to think of it, hm, I don't remember learning about such deep stuff..."

"Anna..."

"...and what is this?" Anna flicked aside another book, analyzed the title, and then gasped. " _Arendelle Through The Ages, Volume 3_?! But I LOVE history!" Anna, clutching the book, turned to Elsa with gleaming eyes.

"What, you like history too?" Elsa said in mild surprise.

"It's my favorite subject!"

"Mine too!" Elsa perked up; now her eyes, too, shone with contained excitement. "Well, guess we can add that to our list of what we know about each other."

"And where d'you find it? I've been searching this book for ages."

"Well, I don't know...since I became queen, more and more books have been piling up in the royal library; I took the ones that would help me, just in case, you know."

"What do you mean they help you?"

"Oh Anna," Elsa shook her head in disbelief. "History books have much to do with knowledge. They aren't just for light reading. They have a lot in common with reigning, too. Like in my case, economy. Take the history of foreign commerce, for instance – ok, ok, _never mind,_ " Elsa said resignedly when she saw Anna stick her nose into the book without hearing a word.

"So, uh, what's your favorite part of history? Like, which eras and events fascinate you most?" Elsa asked, eager to change the subject herself.

Anna guiltily shrugged. "I like to read whatever I come by, I guess..."

"What! You don't even know what you like! What about..." Elsa picked up the first edition of _Arendelle Through the Ages,_ "the history of Arendelle?"

Anna snapped her fingers in agreement. "Yup! Have to say, Arendelle's history was one of my favorites!"

"I know, right?"

Elsa slammed the fairly thick and heavy book on top of her parchments and flipped to a random page.

"Do you remember leaning this?" She fingered over several pictures of ancient banners. The title in bold was headed, "The Ancient Banners of Arendelle." Elsa read, " _As the young town of Arendelle underwent multiple changes over several centuries, so had the national symbols that represented it."_

"Bo-ring," Anna chanted.

"No wait, there's more," Elsa said hurriedly. " _Though the little town started out young and small in size, it had a reputation of sounding bigger and more feisty than it really was. For a start, it desired a symbol that would intimidate neighboring nations and strike fear into enemy ones. Arendelle ambassadors who traveled the world arrived to their homeland, inspired by ideas for the symbol."_

"Ha," said Elsa cynically as she and Anna observed the pictures near the margins of the page. "Look what they brought back. Looks like a a skeleton of a fish, a dragon, a pouncing cougar...and is that a skull with two crossbones at the bottom?"

Anna tittered. "Who knew Arendelle was so _barbaric?"_

Elsa smiled knowingly and read on. " _But Arendelle, for all the time it took to develop, never made up its mind as to what symbol they should give their homeland. Each time the neighboring nations assembled, Arendelle always brought them a good surprise. Each time, the crests that represented this kingdom was different: first the Chinese dragon-"_ Elsa and Anna both rolled their eyes in amusement, _"then the outline of Medusa, and so on and so forth."_

"Then-?" Anna said.

"Ooh, here's where it got real," Elsa whispered excitedly after looking through a few more paragraphs. _"Though it evoked many grudges on young Arendelle from the other neighboring nations, respectively, Arendelle's indecisiveness was what ultimately saved it. It so happened to be a dark age, where a certain tribe of Vikings – the type known as Berkserkers – freely roamed the northern isles, pilfered and ravaged many of the little settlements around Norway. But fledgling Arendelle remained untouched."_

"How was that so?" Anna asked.

"Well..." Elsa smiled as she skimmed the next paragraph. "Apparently Berserkers identified their future victims by their symbols. Explains how they were able to locate their targets so easily. _But_ , Arendelle's crests kept changing so much-"

"Thus making it a challenge for them to locate Arendelle on the map! Yay for Arendelle!" Anna finished excitedly. "Hey, it's all coming back to me!" She furrowed her eyebrows. "How did I forget all this?"

"Oh, don't worry," Elsa laughed it off as she further explored the contents of the enticing book. "Just tell me what else you think you can remember."

"Ummm..."

"Ooh, here's something." Elsa paused on one page. "This is where foreign commerce comes in-"

Anna ostentatiously groaned.

"No, no. Anna – listen, this is interesting... _a century after the Berserkers' reign of terror, their tribe resettled once and for all on the island of Berk. But because this very island was rampant with dragons who stole most of their resources, they wanted a partnering region that could be willing to trade with them. But not one nation in the northern isles wanted to do business with the miscreants who spread terror wherever they went."_

Anna's eyes widened. "How did they survive?"

"Well... _Arendelle was the only region of the isles that wasn't touched. Ironically, of all the isles combined, Arendelle was the main target of the Berserkers. But since Arendelle never knew about Berserkers' murderous reputations, Arendelle was more than happy to trade with them._ But I wonder," Elsa looked up from her book as she pondered over the matter. "Why didn't the Berserkers terrorize Arendelle straightaway? I mean, their life was in those vikings' hands!"

"Because the Berserkers stopped being such meanies, and Arendelle's resources were the best?" Anna suggested while teetering on her toes.

Elsa chuckled. "Point taken."

"Funny thing is, Arendelle has been allies with the Berserkers for a long time now, if I remember correctly..."

"Do you remember when the alliance began?"

"Uhhh, no?"

"Well, the whole trade started..." Elsa checked for the answer within the pages, "...in 755 A.D."

"Oh."

"Annnd..." Elsa gently smirked. "I challenge you to guess when trade ended."

"I'll give you a hint – we were ditched when dragons stopped being pests," Elsa added.

Anna scrunched her face as she wracked her brains trying to remember, but she couldn't, so she gave up with a sigh. "Gimme a head start, please," she said weakly. She hated being the ignoramus here.

" It ended nearly 300 years later after Bork the Bold-"

"You mean the dude who classified the book of dragons?" Anna made a little fist-punch in the air. " _Love_ that book!"

"Yes, Anna dear," said Elsa. " But 300 years after, an aspiring leader named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock officially _trained_ dragons as hunters and loyal pets."

"Yea, I remember learning that!" Anna happily exclaimed. "You know, maybe as a queen, you can ask the Berserkers to trade with us 'cause Arendelle was such good friends with them in the past. Then I can ask Hiccup how he trains those dragons! I mean, isn't it so cool-"

Anna's suggestion was immediately cut off by Elsa.

"Anna-you're-so-funny!" Elsa choked with laughter as she teasingly punched Anna's arm. "Hiccup existed 700 years ago, remember?"

"Oh. Yea." Anna flushed with embarrassment, then compensated for it by lightly punching Elsa back. "Well, you could at least tell me."

"You could at least try to remember the dates!"

"I don't remember any dates, Elsa! That's the whole point!"

"Oh, Anna, you're so ignorant!"

"Am not!" Anna countered

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"You're my little ignoramus."

"Knucklehead!"

"Simpleton!"

"You-uh, uh..." Anna looked around wildly for inspiration to present a clever comeback. "...codfish!"

"What?!"

And, since the entire brawl really wasn't personal, the two girls fell into merry little twitters of bubbly laughter.

"So," Anna finally said after she recovered from her laughing fit, " anything else you can tell me about history...that I don't remember, that is?"

* * *

Another hour had unnoticeably passed – as did Anna's bedtime – as the two spent the rest of their time huddled together beside their history books, learning and laughing at random pages of various topics. True, Anna wasn't exactly the expert at remembering dates . For instance:

"Wait, so Egyptian warlocks still exist!"

"No, Anna, 1845 B.C means 'before our era'. We live in 1845 A.D."

"Ok. But that still means they exist, right?"

"No, they are exctinct."

"What does being smelly have anything to do with not existing? I don't know about you, but you either _exist_ or you _don't."_

"I said _exctinct_! Not _stink_! Get your facts right!"

Sometimes Anna completely veered off topic. For instance, when the conversation veered towards America:

"Did Christopher Columbus's ship tip over the edge of the world after he founded America?"

"Anna! The world. Is. _Round_."

"Ohhhh, I see, I see. But don't people live upside-down on the bottom of the circle?"

Cue the enormous eye-rolling from Elsa.

Even still, the girls were ecstatic about learning their shared favorite subject. The girls would take turns reading the events they most deemed exciting, with Anna occasionally shouting out how much of what she remembered – or what events got mixed up in her head. But at least it was easier for Anna to cipher plain fact from fiction.

"To think that Moana and dragons actually did exist in history! Wait, they aren't myths, right?" Anna asked hopefully.

"They are as real as my ice powers," Elsa assured Anna. And as though to prove her point, Elsa let a few icy sparks of magic swirl around her fingertips. Anna looked on eagerly; she loved watching Elsa's magic demonstrate its various wonders.

" _Pochahontas and John Smith fell deeply in love, but when the Indian tribe and the 'whiteskins', as they were called, discovered that –_ huh?" Elsa felt a weight slide against her. She looked sideways – Anna had fallen asleep and her unconscious figure slumped against Elsa's shoulder for support. She was tightly grasping Elsa's outstretched hand and gently snoring.

 _How could she have fallen asleep that quickly?_ Elsa wondered. _Just five minutes ago we were discussing America, and now look._ But when did take another look, she understood.

 _It's way past Anna's bedtime, how could I have forgotten? Oh well..._ Elsa thought as she single-handedly stacked the history books to one side and pulled out her nearly-finished work from underneath, _At least she's not complaining. I'll let her sleep, I guess..._

As Elsa wrote with one hand while supporting Anna's sleeping figure with her other arm, Elsa couldn't resist a smile. History lessons just became more enjoyable than she'd ever imagine. And somehow, that project she had been working just became a mite more bearable...

Anna stirred a little. "Elsa?" she drowsily murmured in her sleep.

"Yes...?"

"So why did the crest of Arendelle end up a crocus?"

 _Ah. That same old banner question._

"Because, Anna dear, the crocus is a symbol of rebirth and spring. That's what you like, right?"

"I think that's the best symbol of all."

"I think so, too."

* * *

 **\- Sorry the update took long. I became overloaded with work again. Plus, you won't _believe_ how many times I check, revise and edit my works! It's crazy, but I'm just that kind of perfectionist. However...my deadline for each story is to post something up once a week. That's right. Once. A. Week. (I'm looking at you, KoolKat. STOP PROCRASTINATING!) I'll be lucky if I can post something sooner than that but for now, I'll tone it down to once a week. How does that sound?**

 **\- Also, you can find a few Disney references and even some from HTTYD here. I like to think that some fantasy worlds do coexist within each other.**

 **\- If I had to read Elsa's economics books, I don't know WHAT I'd do with myself. I, as well as my beta, are under a lot of book pressure all the time. Trust me, I know. But, Anna's and Elsa's history books sure sound fun! Where do I buy books like that?!**

 **\- Comment, review, the usual stuff. I do take requests, just a reminder.**

 **Thanks for reading! Hopefully I will manage to post something up SOON.**

 **Cheers!**

 **KoolKat189**


	3. Pre-Frozen Fever

Pre-Frozen Fever

 _There was a Frozen fever before the_ actual _Frozen fever..._

* * *

Elsa paced the Great Hall nervously. She was so very caught up in her own worries that she could barely make up the bustle of servants, handmaids and security guards rushing to and fro across the hall.

"Where could she be – oh where, where, _where?!_ " Elsa gripped her head in both hands and wildly shook her head.

"Your Majesty, you are enduring such stress, is there anything else I can do to help?" Gerda, the headservant, approached the young queen sympathetically.

"I'm fine!" Elsa snapped. However, upon seeing the horrified look upon Gerda's expression, Elsa immediately recanted. "I'm sorry. I just never felt so helpless. Oh, why, oh, why did I let Anna trek that snow mountain? How could I have been so rash?" And Elsa's powers, which she learned to control and keep intact so well, unleashed themselves through her disturbed state of mind; while Elsa paced to and fro, a thin sheet of ice trailed after her footsteps.

"You poor, poor dear..." clucking sympathetically, Gerda could do nothing else but lead the worried- sick girl to a seat. "You did your best, dearie. The guards are searching the entire kingdom, from the village to the North Mountain. And they aren't stopping there! They'll search the whole kingdom and beyond if they have to!"

"I know Anna meant well..." Elsa was talking, more to herself rather. " I know she likes to roam the land. But she can't just disappear without alerting _me_ first! What if – what if she went up the North Mountain? There's a huge blizzard up there! If she only told me beforehand, I could have stopped that storm before it was too late."

"Well, Your Highness, have you tried stopping the storm now? I mean, you being the Snow Queen..." Gerda suggested nervously.

Elsa shook her head dolefully. " I cannot control such a harsh blizzard. It's summer already, but that's nothing for the North Mountain." She leaned her head against the backrest. She knew it. She. Just. Blew. It. Being the Snow Queen herself, _she_ didn't know what it was like to experience cold, or frostbite, or hypothermia. But Anna – Anna was just like any other ordinary human being. How could she have forgotten Anna's own weaknesses and proprieties before her own?

These questions, and more shot through Elsa's nerve-wracked brain as she vaguely looked on to the security guards hurriedly proceeding out of the hall and striving to find the person Elsa most deemed precious, as Gerda stroked Elsa's tense back as comfortingly as she could, as Elsa silently prayed that Anna was still alive in the merciless blizzard, somewhere...

"Your Highness, Your Highness!" A troop of fur-clad guards came rushing to Elsa, who glanced up at the first syllable.

"Your Highness..." the leader explained breathlessly. "We saw...figures...snowhill – "

A whoosh, followed by a crash. The word _figures_ was barely uttered when Elsa stood up so rapidly that the chair itself got knocked over.

"Where – where?!" She came up to the guard, the wildest frenzy briefly flashing through Elsa's eyes. "Tell me everything!"

"Uh – erm, Your M-Majesty," the guard head stuttered amid Elsa clinging on to every word, "the outposts, the ones placed by the North Mountain – we saw several figures on a certain quadruped being. Two of them, I think."

"Where were they located?"

"They are currently descending the bottom of the mountain!"

Elsa didn't remember ever experiencing such bliss as on that day. Either way, she was so overcome with relief that her legs gave out and she swooned right into Gerda's outstretched arms. The news of the princess's arrival spread, and the entire castle burst into the merriest cheers and celebrations, and the stupefied Gerda kept spurting apologies as she struggled over Elsa's fallen figure.

Elsa could have cared less.

Anna was all that mattered right now.

* * *

Half an hour later, Elsa greeted an unlikely duo standing in the grand entranceway of the Great Hall: Kristoff and Anna, who was violently quivering and clinging onto Kristoff's muscular arm as though for dear life. They were both half-submerged in melting snow.

"Guys! Are you all right? Oh..." Elsa scurried to greet them, letting the slippery ice spread out on the floor in her wake. She made some circular motions in midair with her fingers, summoning some air currents, then forcing them towards the duo – not violently, but strong enough to blast the snow off them. In a trice, the couple were standing around a slushy snowy mess.

Elsa rushed forward and threw her arms around the two and squeezed tightly. "Where...How...Why...?" Elsa was now crying as Kristoff and Anna awkwardly patted Elsa's shoulder and murmured guilty, "It's ok, we're fine, we're fine."

Elsa abruptly let go and confronted the two with fiery eyes, particularly Anna. "I want answers! _Now!_ Where were you, what were you thinking? I was worried _sick!"_

"Ehhh..." Anna giggled nervously. "We were looking for Olaf-"

"-looking for more ice to harvest."

The two statements were spoken simultaneously. Anna and Kristoff shared a glance, as though to say, _Busted._

Elsa raised her eyebrows.

"We were – well, don't get mad." Anna put up her palms assuredly. "Me, Kristoff and Sven wanted to take a trek up some snow mountains when..." Anna stopped, then sneezed twice.

"Achoo! 'Choo!" She swayed on the spot and stepped forward to regain her balance.

"Anna, you alright?" Fury had quickly changed into concern for her sister as Elsa discerned Anna's pale face contorted into pain.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine..."

"It comes in threes, you know."

"I'm fine!" Anna croaked. "Ah-CHOOO!" She doubled up on the final and most violent sneeze, then completely passed out and fell into unsuspecting Kristoff's arms. The princess and the ice-harvester were known throughout the land to be passionate lovers, so this moment might have looked romantic had the whole situation not been so critical.

Elsa approached Anna's unconscious figure; she and Kristoff looked at each other worriedly.

 _Was Anna all right?_

* * *

"Gerda, have you seen Anna lately?" Elsa looked up from her table at the headservant, who stood next by with a towel and pitcher of water while Elsa ate her breakfast.

"No, Your Royal Highness. I knocked at her door earlier this morning when she didn't get up in time, but I found neither sight nor sound of her to-day."

"Hmm." Elsa laid down her fork and knife in thought. Yesterday was a muddle of events. The maidservants helped Anna into warm dry clothes, who awoke within the five minutes, and kept insisting that she was all right. Meanwhile, having ditched the long lectures she was ready to throw at Anna, Elsa couldn't stop smothering her younger sister with hugs till even Anna got a mite exhausted from all the attention. At the end she plopped right into bed without saying goodnight, and that was all Elsa has seen of her for that day. There was no explanation as to where she and Kristoff disappeared. Even Kristoff looked in a hurry to leave as soon as he was assured of Anna's well-being.

The first thought that came to her was, _Is there something going on that I don't yet know about?_ Then, _Is Anna sick?_

Elsa daintily pushed her plate away and turned to the headservant.

"Gerda, can you hand over the towel and pitcher please?"

* * *

"Anna? You in there? Wake up!" Elsa, carrying the pitcher and towel, as well as a few bottles, shouldered the door open and entered Anna's room. There, a lump covered with piles of blankets lay in the middle of the bed. Elsa only heard a murmur in response.

Elsa laid her things down on a table and approached the sleeping lump."Anna, I came because I got worried, and-"

"Wha-at?" The lump turned over and revealed a groggy – and deathly pale – Anna under the covers.

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "Anna, you're sick!"

"Yep..." Anna nodded miserably.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to catch what I've got!" Anna said hoarsely. "And anyways, I feel sooo...achoo!" The sneeze thrust her forward from her spot; a second later, she made a gurgling sound in her throat, followed by a hoarse, "Elsa, I think it's the oogey boogies!"

"Oh right." Elsa hurriedly passed Anna a napkin, who dealt with the mucus she coughed up from her lungs. In addition, Anna's breaths came in short rasps, and her teeth chattered from the chills.

 _Could it be pneumonia?_ Elsa thought with horror. Her face turned set with determination. If Anna can't help herself, then she will take on the task of helping her sister recover. Even if it was all Anna's fault she ended up in this miserable state in the first place.

"Well then, good thing I brought this stuff..." Elsa dipped the towel into the pitcher of water. Anna slightly winced as Elsa tenderly wrapped the ice-cold cloth around Anna's forehead but showed no other reaction, not even when Elsa started pouring contents out of the bottle – herbs, which Anna had a great distaste for, by the way – and mixed them into concoctions. This worried Elsa even further. Anna was always the optimistic type, even when it came to colds.

"Hey, you'll recover," Elsa said, attempting to break the awkward silence between them. "Looks like you caught either a milder form of pneumonia or some type of virus, so it should last about three weeks but with the adequate care, you should get better sooner-"

"Exactly!" wailed Anna as she fidgeted under the covers. "My birthday is in a week and a half, and I don't know if I'm getting better by that time."

"Well you shouldn't have run away without telling me first!" Elsa almost snapped; as tears formed in her eyes, she barely noticed that the roots she already ground up kept reducing into smaller particles than necessary.

"Where were you?" she asked quietly. "I was worried sick."

But Anna stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

"Even Kristoff didn't want to say anything," Elsa continued.

No answer.

"Look, I'm not mad, I just don't want to lose you, you just mean so much to me-"

"But that's exactly why I'm so upset!" Anna cried out.

Elsa's life seemed to have stopped revolving around her. She felt her very blood chill in her veins, and an icy aura hung around her. She just knew it all along. Anna didn't love her anymore.

Anna most likely didn't see Elsa's shocked expression, because she continued staring down at her covers and sighed. "Kristoff knows of a cave in the North Mountain that's literally overflowing with precious jewels – mostly those deep blue sapphires, you know what I mean? It's located in an extremely well-hidden niche under a snow-covered precipice, so most people can't find it. Even Kristoff wasn't sure where it was. But he has a very old map that hints as to where the cave could possibly be. And it was a nice day so we decided to spend our time together for a while in the mountains anyway..."

"Yes but why didn't you tell me about this in the first place? Why are you so worked-up about this?" Elsa's look of fear turned into sympathy for Anna.

"Because we wanted to get the sapphires for _you_!" Anna blurted out. Her red nose turned even redder as her eyes welled up and she sniffed. "Kristoff had ideas for transforming them into jewelry, and I SO wanted to get them for you in time for my birthday; so we left without telling you of course, and now oh, it's all spoiled-"

Anna's sad confession was immediately cut off as she squawked in surprise; Elsa nearly hurled herself on top of Anna's cover as she gave her little sister a bone-crushing hug.

"Ow, ow – ahem, ahem," Anna coughed and fidgeted from the unexpected weight, then glanced up at her sister in confusion. "Er, Elsa, what was that for? I thought you'd be so upset-"

"No, Anna..." Elsa's voice was positively quavering from joy. "All this time, I thought you were trying to avoid me yet here, you showed me how much you care!"

Anna looked relieved to have emptied her burden onto her sister – Elsa wasn't upset! But still: "It was meant to be a surprise, you know."

Elsa pulled her sister into another hug(Luckily less bone-crushing!). "Anna, at least tell me what _direction_ you are going next time. Besides," she rested her head onto Anna's lean shoulder, "you are more important to me than all the jewels and sapphires in the world."

Which assured Anna's peace of mind even further. However, she gently pushed Elsa away.

"Thanks, Elsa, but I don't want you to get sick," Anna stated firmly, before falling into another coughing fit.

"Oh. Right." Elsa giggled slightly before propping up the pillows for her sister and resuming her herb-mixing. "Now first of all _don't worry_ about anything. We can always reschedule your party if you don't get well in time."

"I guess..." Anna glumly rested her elbows onto her raised knees.

"However," added Elsa as she separated the sopping leaves from the herb concoction, "if you be a good girl and take all the medicines I give you, you will get better just in time for the party. And that includes _all_ the medicine I need for you to take," she said while Anna stuck out her tongue at the thought. Some herbal medicines – Anna inwardly shuddered – were almost too repugnant to consume. She had a history with medicines.

"But what if I take everything you tell me to, and I still don't get better?" Anna faced Elsa skeptically.

"How about we bet – you take all your medications, and they all help you get better in time, we will resume your party. And if you don't," Elsa smiled a trifle mischievously, "well then, I owe you for taking those herbs."

"You mean," Anna's face brightened up, "you think you can help me get better in time?"

"I'll try."

"It's a deal!"

Anna reached over to shake Elsa's hand. To which Elsa sifted the remainder of the herbs into a cup and passed it over onto anticipating Anna.

"Ok, Anna – I know you hate raw garlic mixed with ginseng, but be a good girl and drink up now..."

* * *

 **Elsa's Journal**

Day 1

 _I started off by giving Anna her least favorite herbs. Very helpful in curing pneumonia, but I know what she just had to endure. Luckily she took her medicine without gagging. She got bored later, so I stocked her with more history books to pass the time, but the best part was that I got to keep my sister company._

Day 3

 _Poor Anna. It was after the regular teas and herbs that she met her match. Gerda made some bone broth, which is loaded with the minerals Anna needs to recover. I made Anna take it while holding her nose. She didn't just gag, she also spilled the remnants all over her blankets, if you know what I mean. Guess bone broth does that much to you._

Day 5

 _Anna's getting better, bit by bit. Someone once mentioned that inhaling certain steamed vapors should also help with pneumonia. For hours I made Anna inhale various healing vapors, like camphor, lemon, the pine from the forests outside Arendelle, etc. I could go on. She says I'm overdoing it. Well,(Insert small sigh) maybe I am, but maybe I'm just being overprotective. You don't know what I missed for thirteen years. Maybe that's why the instincts are kicking in._

 _And I'm not sure what kind of sedative got snuck into one of those oils, but when I came back up to check up on Anna, she was asleep and snoring over the steaming pot of liquids! Yep. She's right. I probably outdid it._

Day 7

 _Kristoff came up to see his Anna today, who's feeling much better now. He was raving worried about her too! The visit was brief, because I didn't want him to catch something either. But at least Kristoff offered another way to help. Kristoff gave us a free ride to Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna. A sauna, what luck! I thought that this time,_ hydrotherapy _should also help(And there I go again, being all protective simply by thinking up of all those things!) Anna loves saunas, so she spent some time in there while I waited. Oh, and she fell asleep in the sauna – twice! Anna, make sure you don't overheat, ok?_

Day 9

 _I don't know what boosted this – the treatments I gave her, or maybe it wasn't pneumonia after all. Maybe it was Kristoff(Anna's always in a better mood when she sees him!) Either way, she is over her coughs, her temperature is down, and she's bursting with energy! As a test to her active state, she suggested that we slide down the halls for the fun of it. Where she got that sliding-down-halls idea, she wouldn't tell me, but we bumped into Olaf, so we invited him to partake in the fun!_

 _Or maybe laughter is the best medicine. We couldn't stop laughing at Olaf's antics for sure. He kept zooming down the slippery halls so that each time he'd bump into the wall and the next moment, his body parts are scattered all over the place. Later Olaf asked us,_

 _'Why are we doing this?'_

 _'Because I'm so energetic!' said Anna._

 _'Why are so you so energetic?'_

 _'Well, I was in bed-ridden for a week because of pneumonia...'_

 _'Wait, what's pneumonia?'_

 _Then I stepped in._

 _'Well, it's a sickness, you see. And I think Anna caught the virus kind.'_

 _'What's a sickness? What's a virus? Ooh, is a virus something I can make friends with? Or maybe...' I could see the glee shining in his comical snowman-ish face, 'it's all nice and hot, like the sun!"_

" _No, no. It's NOT nice. It's bad!'(Cue the gasps from Olaf) 'A virus is made up of tiny little living things that enter your body and make you feel down in the dumps.' Give me credit. I tried to explain it in the simplest way to Olaf. The end results? All day long Olaf hung around Anna with a_ butterfly net _and kept waving it around her. Bless his heart, he was trying to prevent Anna from 'catching' a virus!_

 _But the best part is that Anna feels much, much better today. I've got three days to fix up the village and prepare all the party favors before Anna's birthday, make Sven and Kristoff take a shower, set up the children's choir to sing for us... Better start now. Just hope I don't fall sick myself. I'm feeling a sort of scratchiness in my throat..._

* * *

Elsa was extremely sore in every spot she could think of when she climbed into bed that night. Three days of planning and getting ready – that included getting up at five in the morning, running around all day and refusing to take a moment to rest till late in the evening. But the efforts she and her friends had put into these days were _so_ worth it. Tomorrow, Anna would get the birthday party she had long awaited for, which not even colds could stop.

 _Speaking of which, by the way,_ thought Elsa as she finished buttoning up her nightgown and crawled under the blissfully soft blankets, _I hope I'm not the one getting sick! After all, I did stay by Anna's side for days. Might have caught something._

Elsa sat up in bed and put her hand on her forehead. She was imagining it, or was she really burning up? And come to think of it, the scratchiness in her throat really did grow worse over the days.

But Elsa shook all negative thoughts away as she lay back and closed her tired eyes.

 _Really. I'll be fine. I don't catch colds..._

"Achoo!"

* * *

 **Hi, all! I can't believe I actually made the deadline this week.**

 **Comment, review, fav...the usual stuff.**

 **I should probably reduce the lengths of my stories so they don't get too longishly windy. :P Only thing is, I'm not sure what kinds of Frozen-related stories to write that will stay short yet sweet. So remember, I'm open to story suggestions; not like suggestions are a** ** _must_** **, they're just appreciated, that's all.**

 **See y'all!**

 **KoolKat**


	4. Nightmare Share

Share of the Nightmare

 _It's amazing how much sisters share with each other. Even nightmares aren't exceptions._

* * *

 _The terrified Anna ran hard through the deserted, pillaged and dark streets of the village. She was scared out of her wits, but she didn't dare slow down. Not even for one moment. As far as she could vaguely remember, the armies of the Southern Isles launched an unexpected war on the peaceful kingdom of Arendelle, which had no extra weapons in supply, and therefore, was doomed to fall into the cruel hands of the enemy kingdom._

 _Anna made a sharp turn on a demolished cobblestone street. Now, the kingdom was starting to fall into ruins under the multiple cannons of the enemy soldiers; smoke and destruction surrounded her everywhere. Elsa somehow disappeared, leaving Anna running from the person she feared most._

 _With a yelp, Anna tripped and fell across a stray cobblestone, then painfully rolled several times across the rocky remnants. A shadow fell across her fallen figure. Anna slowly looked up in fear and anger at the person she loathed most._

 _The stranger laughed cruelly._

" _Who's king of Arendelle now?" he shouted gleefully. His eyes darkened. "Prepare to die, princess."_

 _His raised up his sword..._

* * *

Almost midnight. Elsa stayed up late into the evening, working late as usual. This time she was writing a letter to one of the many neighboring regions, negotiating with its ruler the alliance he offered to Arendelle.

She was ready to wrap up the work now.

" _My_ - _respect_ - _and_ - _salutations_ - _from_ _her_ - _majesty_ - _of_ - _Arendelle_ ," Elsa muttered along with the words she wrote for the closing statement of the letter, _"Queen Els-"_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!"

The sudden scream cut through the air, startling Elsa. As she jumped in her seat, the pen jerked across the parchment, leaving a gash in it.

Elsa barely noticed this as she looked up with horror. The scream came from Anna's room.

"Coming, Anna!" Elsa thrust the door open and tore across the hall with the speed that only someone with such ardent love for her sister could endure. She vaguely heard the some of the castle inhabitants rush out of heir own quarters from all sides in response to the noise and follow the panic-stricken queen to the spot of distress. The servants had either brooms or fire-pokers, guards rushed forth with their swords, and even the cooks joined in, stocked with their brass pots and pans for weapons. One can't even imagine the pandemonium and terrified squealing from every side.

Elsa was barely five feet from the doorway when she blasted Anna's door open with her icy powers. She stumbled into the room along with the multiple shouting servants at her back; then, gunman style, she joined and pointed her forefingers together and made another blast into the ceiling. A set of icy fractals spewed forth from the spot.

"Show yourself!" Elsa screamed. Everyone quieted down as they froze in attack form, weapons at the ready, and scanned the room in search of the trouble source.

But nothing...unless the trouble could be counted as Anna thrashing around in her sleep and grunting something unintelligible.

Elsa exhaled and groaned, partly from huge relief and partly from anguish. Seriously, Anna sounded like she was being murdered with thumbscrews!

"Thank you, you're all dismissed," she told everyone without turning. Instantly the stillness was replaced by a set of hushed chatter and shaking of heads as everyone but Elsa filed out of the bedroom. This incident would definitely turn into one hot topic of discussion the next day.

"Anna?" Elsa slowly approached the bed, concerned over what she saw. Anna, who didn't wake up from all the noise, continued writhing around and didn't answer.

"Anna! Wake up!" Elsa shook Anna – hard – a few more times before Anna jolted straight out of bed with wild terror and tears in her eyes and cried, "No! No! Please! Don't kill me! I'll do anything! I'll give you a ton of jewels! Loads of chocolate! Even- even-" she waved her hands wildly and added stupidly, " _my horse!_ "

"Anna, it's me!" Elsa said more loudly. Anna's eye grew wider as she fully awoke and recognized Elsa's figure through the dark; a few seconds later, she burst into tears.

"Ohhh, come hear, dearie..." Elsa sat down on the bed, took one of Anna's hands and tenderly stroked her back as the younger bawled into her shoulder like a baby.

"Anna? Would you care to tell me about your troubles?" she said gently.

She received no answer at first.

 _Anna must be taking it really badly this time to stir up such a ruckus and not reply,_ Elsa thought as she patted Anna calm.

Anna didn't say anything at first; a minute later she lifted her chin from Elsa's shoulder, gulped down her tears and began shakily, "Sorry, Elsa. Just a- another nightmare. Th- that's all."

Elsa reached out and put an arm around her sister, " How about you tell me about it? If it'll make you feel better about it, that is."

"It's really scary," she started hesitantly. However, seeing the kindly look on Elsa's face encouraged her to start. "Our kingdom was being run down by the Southern Isles. A-and h- _he_ tried to kill me?"

"Um, who?" Elsa asked. Honestly, she didn't know. Who else could be scaring the gibbers out of Anna? Whoever it was, Elsa was _so_ going to hunt that person down.

Anna simply glared at her. Couldn't Elsa get it?

"Well, tell me?" Elsa finally said.

Anna took a few seconds mustering the courage to say it, but ended bursting out with, "I can't even say it!"

"Wait – I think I know who," Elsa guessed.

"Hans! Th-the Hans guy from the Southern Isles, that's who! Please, Elsa, I'm so dreadfully afraid of him still!" And while Anna broke down into tears again, Elsa only hugged her sister even more protectively.

"A-and to think, that I l-l-loved hi-i-im!" Anna bawled. "But he b-betrayed us! Both of us! Because of me-e-e!"

"Anna, first of all, please, stop being such a drama queen," Elsa hastily entreated. "Do you want the servants coming up here and breaking down the door on us because of your nightmare-induced hysterics? Again?"

Anna took a moment for a shaky little laugh. "Elsa, what do you mean? Did I scream in my sleep?"

"Yes, you did."

Anna laughed some more till she hiccuped.

"Besides," Elsa tightened her grip on Anna's shoulder, " that perverted sicko you were talking about? He isn't going to touch us anymore. He has twelve older brothers – all of them pretty moral and righteous by the way – who have a tight grip on their spoiled little bro. And he is currently enduring all those punishments from them. _And_ ," Elsa chuckled, "Did you know that on the day of your birthday when I sneezed into that Giant Horn, the huge snowball flew all the way down the Southern Isles and hit Hans?The fifth brother witnessed it and told me about it, and then we fit those facts together so that's how we found out. "

"Oh wow," Anna burst into laughter, " Elsa, that sounds like you gave Hans such a what for!"

Elsa nodded and smiled contently as Anna's distress slowly diminished

"It's just," Anna shuddered, "it's so embarrassing. We were gonna 'marry'!"

"But that's why older sisters are there: to advise their younger naive little sisters!" Elsa playfully pinched Anna's red cheek.

"He tried to kill you!"

"I know where you're going with this, Anna, but please, it's wasn't really your fault. What's important is that we've learned a lesson about this and we move on."

"Ok." Anna gulped again and managed a watery smile. "Please let's not talk about this too much? I'm still creeped out."

"I will make sure to not discuss this unless you want to, Anna dear."

"Thank you, Elsa." And much to Elsa's fond amusement, Anna lay her tired head on Elsa's lap while the latter stroked her sister to sleep.

When Elsa heard Anna's snoring, she gently got up; then, she hoisted Anna back onto her pillows, covered her figure with fluffy blankets, and tiptoed out of the room. Only then did Elsa exhale with relief.

 _Everyone is calm now, and Anna should be too..._

Unless you didn't count the fact that Anna unconsciously thrust a punch in mid-air and murmured rather forcefully in her sleep, "Oh yea, Hans? Ya wanna piece of me? I dare you."

Anna was learning to face her own fears.

* * *

 _Elsa struggled vainly against the harsh snowstorm that beat down upon her back. Her mind was clouded with absolute fear and worry, which triggered this uncontrollable storm. There was nothing she could do to stop it. And there_ would _be nothing else, if she didn't find and save her sister now! First the war, and now, she was too fear-ridden to keep her powers in check._

" _Anna!" she screamed, but her small voice was carried off by the incessant howl of the wind._

 _A harsh cackle from behind made Elsa spin around. Her eyes grew wider in terror when she recognized that one person whom Anna was ever afraid of._

" _You lost, Queen Elsa!" the stranger cackled. "You sister is dead!"_

 _He raised up his sword..._

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!" A loud series of blasts followed the scream, which was shriller and more hysterical than the first one an hour ago.

Anna jerked forth from her bed. That scream. It sounded like it came from Elsa's room. And that blast! _What was going on?_

No time to lose.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, Elsa!" Anna stupidly repeated as she threw back her covers and leapt to the rescue.

"Leapt" is probably an understatement. As soon as Anna made to bolt out, her knees gave out because they have been asleep for a while. Anna heavily collapsed to the floor, but that only made her more panicky to reach her sister.

"I'mcomingI'mcomingI'MCOMING!"

Only it took more effort on Anna's part. First, as she darted through the hall, she stumbled on the super-long hem of her nightgown; then she blindly ran into a random hatstand that was mysteriously left standing along the dark hallway, so that both it and Anna caused a tremendous racket on impact( _Who in their right minds would leave a hatstand there?_ Anna thought irritably). Then, as the servants rushed out in a panic yet again, Anna mixed into the flurry of the shoving, bustling crowd.

"Call the doctor!" screamed Gerda.

"Call the police!" roared Kai.

"Call a paranormal investigator!" cried one particularly superstitious maid.

"Call the lawyer," muttered one grumpy old cook and former attorney who had a history of suing anyone who disturbed his sleep.

Anna was thrown about pretty well by the crowd before she finally made to the queen's bedroom door, the servants following her in their angst. She kicked the door open, broomstick in hand.

"I'm armed and dangerous!" she screamed, brandishing the broomstick in front of her. "I-I have a broomstick – a-and I'm not afraid to use it!" She did her best to muster up her brave voice.

It was a little hard to discern anything in the dim light at first, but when Anna's eyes adjusted, she could only stare.

Elsa, who was tangled up in her sheets, stared back at Anna. If anything, she looked terrified. Anna quickly scanned the room again – why were there chunks of ice and glaciers clinging all over the walls and ceilings? And why was the air so deathly cold?

Anna could have laughed aloud at the comical moment, had she not understood that something more serious was at hand.

"Um, guys?" Anna turned to the small crowd briefly. "You're all dismissed."

With even further disgruntled chatters and murmurs, the servants slowly retreated back to their own rooms. Now, this made up for _two_ hot topics of discussion the next day.

"Elsa?" Anna lowered her stick as she took a step towards the bedpost. Suddenly, another icy blast whooshed forth, narrowly missing Anna's ear.

"Stay back!" Elsa yelled from her bed. Her hands were positioned for another attack. Anna could have sworn the temperature in the room was dropping by every second.

"Elsa, I'm not gonna hurt you..."

"I said. Stay. Back!" Another icy blast right past her ear. Anna shivered with fright. Serious enough all right. She would have to keep her cool now.

"Ok. I'm standing." Anna took two steps back and innocently leaned against her propped stick.

All was silent for the time being. Except why did Elsa keep staring at Anna in this eerie way and panting as though she ran the entire length of the castle?

"Elsa, it's me, Anna."

More staring. At least Elsa wasn't hurling more icy cannonballs around.

"Don't you dare touch my sister," Elsa finally said. The statement sounded blank, actually.

Anna shook her head at that. She knew it. Elsa was hallucinating something. That's why she stared like this. "Come on, Elsa, it's me! I've come to help you." She cautiously edged closer to Elsa, till her older sister came into better view. Elsa was still staring straight ahead, and she was shaking – from fear, possibly.

"It's all right, I'm here, nobody's gonna hurt you..." Anna sat down on the edge of the bed and lightly tapped Elsa's shoulder. Elsa rapidly turned around, but she relaxed a little and she buried her head into Anna's shoulder.

"There, there..." Anna knowingly smiled as she patted Elsa's heaving figure. "You're just dreaming, you know?" Anna wasn't sure that Elsa was fully awake or even aware of this awkward situation, but she didn't care. "A wise someone once told me that it helps to talk about nightmares."

"It's just..." Elsa shivered as she looked up at Anna. "...Anna." Nope. Definitely not awake yet. "She was gonna get killed by..." Elsa, unable to say who, buried her face again.

"Who, Elsa?"

"Hans!" came the muffled response. More sniffs ensued.

Anna, who could do nothing else, did her best to allay Elsa's nighttime sorrows by murmuring words of comfort and stroking her back. Within half a minute, Anna heard the gentle rhythmic breathing from Elsa's part. Anna heard a little dripping and splashes resounding from the room, and she knew why. Elsa, out of stricken terror, temporarily lost some control over her powers and let them run a little haywire. But with Anna's presence, Elsa was lulled to sleep and the ice, left over by Elsa's blasts, melted again.

Anna sighed with relief. However, she couldn't let this happen again. She had to be here for her sister. Even if she had to stay up all night here in this room.

Anna hugged the unconscious figure closer to herself and gripped Elsa's hand. So be it. But she was going to assure Elsa that her sister will always be here, no matter what.

Anna yawned. All-nighters were tougher than she thought...

* * *

Gerda knocked on Elsa's door. She hasn't seen any sign of the girls all day.

"Your Highness?" she called out uncertainly. "It's past twelve o'clock already! Are you sure you wouldn't like to partake in some lunch?" Gerda pushed open the door to check on her queen. She nearly dropped her laundry basket in surprise.

Anna was sprawled onto her stomach across the bed. Her head was slightly tipped over one side, and some drool came oozing out of the edge of her mouth. Elsa lay flat on her back, her head propped onto Anna's back for a pillow; one foot hung over the edge. Both girls were snoring soundly and both held hands in their sleep.

Gerda couldn't resist an "Awww!"upon witnessing the sisterly fluff. Not surprising, considering how rough the previous night was.

Gerda chuckled fondly before stacking the spilled clothes back into the basket and shuffling out the doorway. "Let the girls have their sleep. Those poor things had a lot to endure yesterday. I wonder what kind of nightmares they have to endure for them to lose their heads like this?"

One can't imagine the gossip that followed this day. And the grumpy used-to-be attorney did sue more or less people for the previous night's misdemeanor.

But that's a different story.

* * *

– **A quick shout-out to TheWonderWoman for giving me that nightmare idea. However, another shout-out to Protoestrella1 too, who also requested a fanfic where Elsa gets a nightmare and because of that she can't control her powers. So I thought, Why can't I write where Elsa gets a nightmare AND loses control of her powers? So hopefully I've tied these ideas in well enough so they live up to the reviewers' expectations.**

 **Good news! I now have WAY more time to write my fanfics than before. So hopefully, I can post things up in less than a week, if I'm really focused on it. Which I probably will be. I'm simply hooked on writing more fiction these days.**

 **You may comment, review, fav, all that stuff. What would YOU like me to write about? You can tell me if you want, haha :)**

 **It was a lot of fun writing this chapter in particular, I think because I injected more humor into it. Hope everyone enjoyed!**

 **KoolKat**


	5. Carrot Chaos

Carrot Chaos

 _Sven was very hungry..._

* * *

Olaf was quite out of shape when he arrived panting at the Arendelle docks. Literally. His bottom and torso had switched from their usual places, one stick arm stuck out at an awkward angle, and his three rock buttons were plastered onto him from the wrong sides.

He heaved a sigh of relief, when suddenly he spotted a familiar figure near the cargo.

"Anna!" Olaf joyfully tottered over to the princess. "Hey! How are you?"

Anna was seated on top of a tarp-covered shipping box, head slumped against some barrels. She looked up and sadly smiled when she heard Olaf's voice.

"Hey Olaf..." she said gloomily before turning her head away.

Olaf gaped in naive wonder. For a guy with such a tiny brain, he took him a while to process the fact that something wasn't right with the usually optimistic Anna.

He rearranged himself back into his proper form before coming around to face the lifeless form of Anna, while still gaping. He took in a long gasp.

"What's wrong, Anna?" he asked innocently. "You don't look very happy."

"Elsa," was the reply. Anna turned her gaze to the sea. "Had to go on some urgent business meeting with some of the diplomats of the Andalasians or wherever she's headed. She's not coming back for three weeks."

"Ohhhh..."

"It's been three days already, but it feels like forever..." Anna sighed.

Olaf, as the loving snowman that he was, didn't just give her a warm hug for her pains, but he even cried for her!

"How terrible!" he wailed while clinging to her; his icy tears fell forth. "Anna, please don't cry; I'd melt for you just so you'd be happy, you know that?"

"Oh, haha," Anna briefly laughed, then leapt off the box. "Thanks Olaf. But all I can think about is Elsa. I don't even know how to pass the time." She shrugged moodily. "Imagine how happy I'll be – all of us will be, since the villages love her too – when Elsa comes back."

"Maybe...throw her a party when she comes back?" Olaf suggested innocently, while teetering back and forth on his stubby little legs.

Anna immediately brightened. "Olaf, that's a marvelous idea! A welcome-back party!" She leaned down and planted a grateful kiss on top of the snowman's cold head, while Olaf ecstatically held his face in both hands and sighed, "That makes me feel sooo special!"

Anna decided to take take action.

"I'm gonna go shopping for all the materials I need for the party. You can join me if you want!" Anna faced Olaf.

"Well, you see," Olaf chuckled sheepishly, "I'm hiding."

"From whom?"

Anna got her answer all right. A certain heavy weight charged and bowled into the cargo boxes, making them tumble hither and thither. The large weight – Sven, Anna realized – spotted Olaf and clumsily galloped towards him, grunted and snatched the carrot right off his nose.

"Hey!" Olaf placed his hands on his nose, where his carrot had just been. Sven took no notice but chomped up the carrot.

"See?" Olaf indicated at the unrepentant reindeer. "He keeps stealing my carrot noses!"

Anna laughed good-naturedly. "Well, I don't know what's gotten into him either. Hey, I wonder where Kristoff is?" Anna looked around, but saw no sign of Sven's owner. "Hmm, maybe he's also out shopping? Never mind, I'll buy you a new carrot while we go shopping. C'mon, Olaf!"

And Anna skipped forth on her way to the Arendelle town square, while Olaf toddled after her and sped 200 miles an hour with his perky and humorous chatter.

* * *

"...some balloons of every color, a birthday banner, some confetti, and a ton of party blowers!" Anna finished ticking off the list of supplies to the owner of the party supply shop.

The owner was a small, mousy, and a critical no-nonsense old man, which was rather ironic for someone who acted as the local clown and who was surrounded by party favors and merrymaking for seventy-five years.

"Eh? Ya want _all_ o' dat?" He asked skeptically.

Anna bobbed her head yes.

"That'll be 5,000 kronor, madam." The surly elder raised an eyebrow at her; he doubted that a bubbly girl could carry so much money around, even if she was a princess.

"Here you go!" Anna took out her purse and threw several gold coins onto the counter. The surly elder bit into the money to check its value, then went to fetch all the supplies that Anna ordered.

Olaf stood next by the stand and squealed like a little child. "Oooh, yes, yes yes! Elsa will be so pleased!"

"Oh, talking of pleased, I bet you'll be pleased when you'll see what I got you in the food market!" Anna pulled out one carrot from her bag and shoved it into the middle of Olaf's face.

"Oh! My nose!" Olaf was gratified, but before he could say anything else, Sven came stumbling to them while crashing through two stands. He grunted excitedly when he saw Olaf; in a trice Sven yanked out the carrot and noisily chewed it up, and then hurriedly dashed away through the market street, upending more stands with his antlers and leaving havoc in his wake.

"Hey!" The distraught Olaf waved his stick arms. "Why are you always stealing my nose? Why couldn't you rob celery or beets instead?"

But Sven didn't stop there. Olaf could do nothing else other than toddle through the reindeer's path, though that much good _that_ would do him.

"Olaf! Wait!" Anna made to rush after him, but instead she stumbled into a burly arm. She looked up.

"Kristoff! It's you!" Anna gasped with mild surprise.

"Anna, what a pleasant surprise!" Kristoff said at the same time.

The couple glanced at each other and giggled embarrassingly.

Luckily, Kristoff averted the awkwardness by clearing his throat and asking, "Have you seen Sven?"

"Oh! Sven!" Anna burst out. "Yes, yes! He was just here, stealing carrots from Olaf! He ran-" Anna wildly indicated at the path of Sven's wreckage, "that way! Yea, that way!" Anna glared at Kristoff. "And where _have_ you been, have I ask?"

"Oh, me?" Kristoff chuckled nervously. "You know, the usual. Selling ice, buying things that you can't usually find in Oaken's..."

"Like?" Anna raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

"Like this?" Kristoff innocently revealed two cups of hot cocoa, both in one massive hand, from behind his back. "You're lucky I didn't spill any when I caught you."

"Oh, Kristoff!" Anna gratefully took a cup. "You're so sweet!" She sipped the savory hot sweetness "And it's with chococate sprinkles, my favorite!"

"Well..." Kristoff shyly scratched his neck. "You looked down in the dumps since Elsa left. It's the least I- I can do. Honest."

Anna could only beam at him in reply. _The guy is sooo dreamy..._

Anna's daydreams were cut off when she heard a stern cough from the stall behind.

" 'Zis wha' you wan'ed, ma'am?" The owner of the party supply shop wheezed as he heaved the load of supplies to the counter.

* * *

"Wait, what?"

"Yup. Sven was acting all weird today."

Kristoff facepalmed. "Oh, right! Sven hasn't eaten all day, and I promised to buy him more carrots. But I guess I've been so busy running errands, that I forgot. And now look – my best bud has deserted me!" Kristoff shook his head at his mistake.

Anna gently tugged at his arm as the two walked through the village market, cocoa cups in hand, as they went around in search of Sven and Olaf. To be honest, it turned into more of a leisurely stroll than a heated search for a starving reindeer. "Look, let's not get all worked up about this," Anna assured him. "Sven must've been hungry, but I bet he's looking for you too. He'll forgive you if you have carrots."

"Right." Kristoff patted the sack bulge of carrots, along with a few other minor supplies, that hung around his belt. " This should lure him back here. He can smell carrots from a mile away."

Kristoff spoke the truth all right. Suddenly, Anna and Kristoff saw Sven leap out from one alley and come dashing towards them at top speed. In an attempt to slow down, he slid forth with all four hooves, but ended up crashing into Kristoff.

"Whoa, buddy!" Kristoff waved the reindeer away as he picked himself up and dusted off his cap. Sven didn't stop prancing and running around like mad. " Did you munch on coffee beans, by any chance? I thought I told you to stay away from those tiny brownish beans, they make you hysterical."

Sven abruptly stopped in his tracks and glared at Kristoff in his exasperated way, then trotted up to him and made a series of grunts.

"Uh, Kristoff? What's he saying?" Anna asked nervously.

"Sounds urgent," Kristoff muttered as Sven continued his reindeer sounds and nodding his head towards the road. "Where's Olaf?"

Sven kept bucking his head with a frenzied look in his eyes.

Kristoff's eyes widened and turned to Sven. "Find Olaf," he said softly.

Sven didn't need telling twice. He instantly dashed off, while Kristoff and Anna could do little but sprint after him. Sven must've decided that human speed simply wasn't fast enough to reach their destination, because half a minute later he returned and hoisted up Kristoff with his antlers and right onto his back, while Anna hopped right in front.

"So let me get this straight," Anna shouted above the wind whistling past as Sven hurriedly dodged the diminishing crowds of people, "You know Sven so well and you don't even know what he's telling you?"

"Not always, I guess," Kristoff shouted back. "Is this really the time to discuss reindeer language?"

"Sorry, I'm just so scared for Olaf!"

"Now or never, Anna." Kristoff's eyes narrowed in determination. "I think we're reaching the docks. Hyah, old pal!" And Sven tore across the streets ever faster.

The little rescue group didn't make it farther forward before they stopped in their tracks. The trio knew it was impossible before they had even reached the piers. Far away, they spotted a group of soldiers, their attire clad with the Andalasian crest, dragging on board their ship a shiny white figure, who kept naively repeating phrases like, "Hey guys, my friends are that way!" or "What's a scientific experiment?" or "I never head the phrase 'custody of the Andalasian king' before. Is that a good thing?" The soldiers have already pulled up the gangplank and were speeding away from the pier as rapidly as the ship could go. There was no way they could reach Olaf in time.

Kristoff groaned, Anna miserably sniffed, and Sven struggled to catch his breath, too exhausted to even groan in despair.

"The Andalasians have kidnapped Olaf! How dare they!" Anna yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I thought Elsa forbid this! Why would they do this!"

"So much for Elsa's rules," Kristoff sighed. "Rogues like these should be banned from hurting innocent snowman. Who knows what science experiments he'll go under this time."

He took off his cap in a farewell gesture.

"So long, bud – whoa, hey whadda you doi-!" Kristoff ended his sentence in a yell. For Sven bucked and stood up on his hind legs, making Anna and Kristoff slide off his back.

SPLAT.

Kristoff plopped down on the ground first. As Anna also slid off with a yelp, he caught her to help break her fall.

Anna and Kristoff turned their heads to Sven, only to see him galloping away to the piers at top speed.

"Go get 'em, buddy!" Kristoff punched the air, while Anna cheered on with all her might.

Now that Sven had a lighter back, he sped on faster than ever before. If he could just make it, enough to leap off the edge of the pier and onto the ship. If he could – just – make it –

Sven stopped short at the edge. Nope, nope, and nope. The ship was too far out of range!

Sven glanced around the dock wildly. Anything, just anything, to reach that accursed ship –

The reindeer blinked. Of course! There were so many ships aligned closely next to each other in this port; wouldn't it be simple to hop his way across them and jump on his desired ship.

And without further considering how crazy this plan was, Sven clambered up the nearest ganplank, knocking descending sailors down from their spots and into the water. He vaguely heard the multiple curses that followed behind him as he continued leaping from one ship's deck to another in repeated succession. He could make out his destination ship looming closer into view. _Almost there..._

And Sven took a leap of faith – literally – as he jumped off the remaining ship and soared over the sea gap below him, onto the vessel...

He made it. Barely. His front hooves luckily crashed through the wooden railings while hanging onto the port side of the ship, to the bemusement of startled sailors and soldiers. His hind legs hung precariously over the hull, threatening to slip from the weak grip. But even in his awkward state, Sven scrabbled onto the deck.

And that's where his new challenge began. Sven looked up to see sword blades drawn and pointed right at him. If guards were completely befuddled about witnessing a random reindeer crash-landing onto their ship, they were even more furious over it.

Sven could've backed out on the spot had he not thought of his snowman friend. So instead, Sven exasperatingly snorted at the whole lot as though to say, _To heck with you guys!_ and barged through the unsuspecting horde with his antlers.

Cries ensued from the fallen soldiers. Good. They were delayed for now. He frantically stumbled around the entire ship deck in search of his friend, and quickly, because now he was being chased around by strong burly sailors who came out to inspect the source of havoc. Sven didn't hesitate bucking them out of the way with his mighty antlers either. If the Andalasians were mad, then Sven was even madder. Time for payback.

But where _was_ Olaf? The last time he saw Olaf, he was stuffed in a bag.

And suddenly, just as he reached poop deck, Sven skidded and slid forward; his front hooves veered out of control and gave out, which caused him to land right on his face.

Sven groaned with displeasure, then dizzily looked down. He tripped on something No, it couldn't be – !

Olaf was lying right in front of Sven and goofily smiled up at him. Olaf –!

"Hey Sven! You found me! You tripped over me, by the way."

Sven expressed all of this confusion in one bemused, annoyed snort. Olaf must have understood, because he giggled some more and said,

" Oh, by the way, they let me out the bag because they said they didn't know if a 'species like me breathes oxygen.'" Olaf pressed his face close to Sven's. "Is is really true that I breathe oxygen? What's it like to breathe? What's oxygen?"

Sven didn't have to answer this one, because the guards came running again; this time, in more numbers than ever. As they cornered the two friends, Sven protectively scooped up Olaf with his antlers and slowly turned towards them, growling in anger.

"Hey, don't be mad, buddy!" Olaf, who didn't understand what the commotion was all about, dumbly reached down and patted Sven's hot nose. "Are you saying that we're dealing with the bad guys?"

He received a loud snort in response. _Yes._

"Hey guys!" Olaf suddenly pointed at the horizon beyond the sea. "Is that Queen Elsa's ship I see?"

The Andalasian rogues, who knew too well about Elsa's anti-snowman manhandling legislation, glanced in fear at where Olaf was pointing.

As for Olaf, he leaned towards Sven, who was also briefly taken by the distraction, and mouthed, "Isn't this where you were planning your escape?"

Right. Sven snapped back into action as he did the only thing he could think of right now: jump off the ship

So he did.

The soldiers got alerted by the tremendous splash. They rushed forth to look overboard, to see Sven kicking and rearing in the overwhelming water. Olaf, in a lame attempt to keep Sven above water, kept a hold on his antlers and kicked forward with his stubby little feet and shouted, "C'mon buddy, c'mon buddy, keep your head up!"

Soldiers were just about to cast nets and fishing lines into the water to reclaim their escaped possession Olaf (They cared only about the snowman and not the reindeer) when Sven took the final intake of breath and fell submerged under water completely, taking the snowman along with him.

The soldiers and sailors alike stared at the spot where Sven and Olaf disappeared. Evidently the reindeer sank and took the snowman along. After a minute of waiting around just to make sure both wouldn't make a comeback, the groups grumbled to themselves and to each other over their loss and withdrew from the edge of the deck.

The unfortunate friends had drowned at sea.

So it seemed.

Meanwhile, just a little over a quarter mile away on shallower ground, a reindeer's head broke the surface of the water, gasping for air, with a wet pile of snow clinging to his antlers and couldn't stop screaming on the top of his lungs, "I'm not letting go, buddy! Not letting go!"

Hey, at least they made a comeback. Just in a different place.

* * *

"So you came back here while holding your breath for that long?" Kristoff asked Sven incredulously. "No way!"

Sven grunted and cocked his head back and forth as though to say, _Yea, well, it was nothing._ Then he peered reproachfully at the still-gibbering snowman. _Though this pile of snow just doesn't know how to zip it!_ And as though to prove his point, Sven knocked Olaf over the head with his hoof to make him zip it.

Sven and Olaf had made it to the shore and to safety, though not without some effort on Sven's part. To evade his pursuers, and because he was sinking anyways, he held his breath and swam frog-style to shore. He only took occasional small breaths of air wherever he could risk poking his head out wthout getting caught. By the time he made it, he was convinced that he was one millisecond away from his lungs bursting from lack of oxygen. Sven definitely wasn't relishing another dip in the water anytime soon. Anna and Kristoff were too far away to perceive the entire event unravel at sea, but saw Sven return with the snowman, and rushed forward to their aid.

"We were so worried!" Anna, half laughing, half crying, couldn't stop cuddling the snowman into squishy hugs. Olaf laughed it off and and returned the gesture. "Hey, I like warm hugs too!" Apparently that snowman could never stay worried for long.

Anna turned to Kristoff. "Hey, Kristoff," she said more seriously, "Do you have any idea why these people tried to do such cruel things?"

"I don't know, Anna." Kristoff suddenly became more pensive amid the affectionate snorts and snuggles his reindeer friend gave him. "Andalasians, weren't they?"

"Hmmm," Anna furrowed her eyebrows. "Wasn't Elsa meeting up with this part of the kingdom?"

"Seems so. What were they doing in our territory anyways?"

"No idea."

"Never mind that." Kristoff shook off any unpleasant conjectures for the time being. "I'm just so proud of you, Sven, for bringing us back Olaf!"

Sven beamed with pride.

"Speaking of which..." Kristoff dumped out a bag of carrots. "You should be rewarded with some carrots!"

Sven responded by digging into his snout into well-deserved carrots and rapidly chomping them up.

"Oh, and also," Anna took out a single carrot from the pile, " Olaf needs one too!" She pushed the carrot into the middle of Olaf's face, only for Sven to intervene and pull the carrot out and suck it into his mouth.

"Heyyy," Olaf said gloomily. "I've been looking for a carrot all day, why would you-"

Then Sven spat the carrot into Olaf's face again, slobber and all, while playfully panting at him like a dog.

"Aww!" Anna touched Kristoff's arm while looking on in fondness at the two ragtag friends scuffling with each other. "He's just playing!"

"Or maybe," Kristoff added, "Sven was very hungry, since he didn't eat all day."

"Or _maybe_ he did this to distract Olaf from upcoming danger, hm?"

"Maybe. Who knows?"

But not even Kristoff could get this answer out of Sven.

* * *

 **\- By the way, I recently watched Inside Out in movie theaters and it was SWELL! Just a random thought, but do you know a movie so good that it simply makes you feel mad, in a way? Well, Pixar movies give me this sensation all the time! Inside Out is sure not an exception! I mean, the animation and storylines are just THAT good! :A**

 **\- Anyways, enough of my chatter. A shout-out to LaffyTaffy for giving me the idea to write about Sven and Olaf! These guys sure make the cutest of friends, don't they! Anyways, I appreciate the free candy you shower me with, so in a sense I would like to give back by posting up your story request for your and everyone's enjoyment.**

 **\- You can comment, fav, review, whatever else you want. I like the requests I'm receiving so far! They're perfect!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **KoolKat**


	6. Surprise Bash

Surprise Bash

 _Queen Elsa wasn't expecting this._

* * *

"The ship! It's coming, it's coming, it's coming! MY SISTER'S COMING HOME!" Anna screeched as she wildly jumped up and down on the pier. Kristoff, Sven and Olaf were also with Anna to greet their Queen. After three long weeks, with just three days overdue, Queen Elsa was coming home. Anna knew it was _her_ this time when she caught sight of the Arendelle flag, with the crocus symbol, waving on a ship far off in the distance.

But if the merry quartet, as well as the entire kingdom, were overjoyed at the Queen's return, Elsa didn't show that same excitement. At least, that was how Anna saw it as she became surrounded with the growing crowd of eagerly awaiting villagers, when she saw Elsa elegantly walk down the gangplank with her servants at her heels and pass the line of bodyguards and trumpeters announcing her arrival, when she noticed Elsa's grim expression.

No. It couldn't be. Elsa didn't even bother glancing around to catch sight of her little sister. And while Elsa had by nature a reserved personality, she didn't just openly frown upon the public like that.

The trumpets sounded once more.

"Way for the noble ambassadors of Andalasia!"

This time, a group of Andalasian delegates also descended down the gangplank after Elsa. With the way they carried themselves, the priceless bejeweled suits and austere expressions they wore, it indicated to Anna how dignified and oh- _so_ -regal they appeared in public.

Anna sniffed with displeasure. Anyone with such pompous manners without even a drop of humor was on her suspect list. Especially after that time with the Duke of Weselton...eesh...

Her thoughts were immediately scattered by the trumpet's blares, followed by the announcer's speech. Her heart swelled with anticipation.

"Her Royal Majesty and Queen of Arendelle wishes to deliver a speech of reconciliation to her royal subjects and a welcome to the Andalasian ambassadors!"

Queen Elsa rose to the podium next by. Instantly the crowd quieted. As Elsa took a cursory glance to the hordes of citizens standing outside the limits, Anna swore that she seemed a mite nervous from that angle.

Elsa cleared her throat before she spoke. "I would like to thank all my loyal subjects for welcoming me back to my kingdom. As you may or may not know, I've been away on several important business commissions with our potential future ally, the nation of Andalasia. We spent many sleepless nights discussing-"

"Yea! Woo-hoo! Go Elsa! Yea, Elsa! That's my sister, everyone!" A shrill voice, uncontained with enthusiasm, rang out somewhere from the crowd, followed by her clapping and more whooping. "I haven't seen you in forever!

In a flash, Anna sprang out from the crowd, ran over to her sister and tackled her into a crushing hug. The guards made to stop her, but since they remembered that they couldn't touch royalty, they back out at the last minute.

"Anna – please," Elsa gasped out while Anna relentless kept a tight grip around her waist. "This isn't what you think it is – let go of me – let – GO!" Elsa shouted the last word out quite angrily and pushed her off with as much force as she could.

Anna instantly let go and faced Elsa. Anna was utterly shocked, while Elsa had a face combined with both shock and embarrassment. During that pained silence, the crowd turned abuzz with bent heads and hurried whispers from every side. The ambassadors exchanged glances and glared reproachfully at Anna, as if she was at fault. Which, obviously, she was, if it meant bursting out in the middle of a speech to reunite with her sister after at least three weeks.

Elsa froze upon seeing the crowd's restless state. She leaned over to Anna.

"Leave. Now," she mouthed. More angst than ever filled her pleading eyes. " And don't talk to me. You must be neither seen nor heard. Understand?"

"But Elsa, I don't underst-" Anna instantly silenced herself when she read Elsa's desperate expression. Slowly, Anna backed off, where Kristoff grabbed hold of her and led her farther back, through the staring crowd.

Elsa turned back to the listeners in front of her and resumed as if nothing happened. "And so, to continue with my speech which has been so needlessly interrupted..."

* * *

"Pass the tissues, Olaf."

Some napkins passed to Kristoff, who passed it to Anna, who was lying face-down on the ground in the Royal Garden. Olaf and Sven were vainly attempting to comfort her with gentle pats and nudges.

"It's not fai-ai-air!" she wailed, looking abut ready to pound her fists into the ground like a little girl. "She shut me out for thirteen years and what? What did _I_ ever do to her?! Was I a terrible sister? Did I make her mad?"

"Actually, you kinda did," Kristoff, who was sitting cross-legged next to her, stated bluntly, and placed the napkins into her outstretched palm.

She lifted her dirty tear-streaked face from the ground and faced Kristoff. She roughly shook him by the shoulders. "Elsa doesn't love me anymore, Kristoff! In this case, I'm gonna have to pack up and leave! Anywhere! Even if I have to live the rest of my days in solitude on a mountain. And-" Anna pointed at Kristoff, "- _you_ are coming with me!"

Anna was about to get up when Kristoff pulled her back down.

"Whoa there, Princess," he said firmly. "First of all-" he crossed his arms over his chest, "-you are not running away. Ok? Second-" Kristoff inhaled deeply and motioned up his chest with his hands, "Calm down. I know there's a reasonable explanation for Elsa's, um, _cold_ attitude towards your sisterly affections."

Anna gulped and sniffed through her deep breaths. Tears ran down her face, but at least she wasn't hysterical anymore.

"Ooh, ooh, can I have a say?" Olaf jumped between Kristoff and Anna. He clicked his tongue and pointed two fingers at Anna. "Third, your welcome-home party for Elsa is today, remember?"

Count on a happy-go-lucky snowman dude to make situations worse.

"Don't you dare freak out again, Princess Anna," Kristoff warned her when her face crinkled up in panic.

"But I almost forgot!" she burst out. "We already set up the party favors, decorated the entire ballroom, prepared the refreshments and invited the guests!"

"Exactly! So why don't you come up to your sister and tell her you need her in the ballroom or whatever you wish to say," Kristoff said. "Meanwhile, I will greet the guests and Olaf will tell you when to let Elsa in. Sister relationships mended, and no one will shed a tear," he concluded.

"Ok!" Anna said, a little more optiistically. Judging from the absence of her tears, she was no longer crying; in fact, she really did wonder why she didn't previously assess the situation in a more sensible manner.

"Now by the way..." Kristoff furrowed his eyebrows at her questioningly. "How many people did you invite?"

"Ah, not very much. Just a hundred or so," said Anna.

Kristoff blanched.

"But most of them include servants," Anna added quickly. I expect only twenty to thirty actual guests in all. Most of them will be from this kingdom. The only foreign guests will be a royal couple from Corona, I guess? It's not that far from Arendelle, you know. Anyways, it's a small party, really."

Kristoff shrugged. Didn't sound like it. But then, what did he know about castle life?

"All right, then." Kristoff picked himself and Anna up and tugged Sven's rein after him.

"Come on!" he shouted over his shoulder. "You'll have to escort me to the ballroom, since I'm no royalty!"

"Right," Anna called and followed after him. "You do the last-minute check-ups on the ballroom."

"And you know what to do."

"Yup."

* * *

"...and you claim that your kingdom owns and maintains the following resources listed out in these documents?" The head ambassador skeptically scanned the files listing Arendelle's trading goods and passed it on to Elsa.

Elsa, who nearly fell asleep during the first three hours of the meeting, perked up and nodded. "Yes." She, along with the rest of the ambassadors, were in the Council Chamber, discussing the trading affairs she and the kingdom of Andalasia wanted to start.

"Good. However..."

Just then, the doors burst open.

"Elsa! Elsa!" Anna shouted as she ran over to where Elsa was seated. "You gotta come to the ballroom! Some important people are waiting for you and – oh, what am I saying? You just _have_ to see something!"

"Actually, I think some important people are already _here,_ if you mean us," said the head ambassador coldly. Anna slowed in her tracks.

"No, I'm talking about other people-"

"This isn't the point. You interrupted our meeting with the Queen!" said the head ambassador still more coldly.

An awkward pause followed. Anna shuffled her feet uncertainly, wondering if she really made a fool of herself this time.

Elsa broke the silence first. "You'll have to forgive her," she told the head. "She's, er, my servant. Yes, one of my servants!" She strode towards Anna.

"I'm not-" Anna began.

"I'm doing this because if they find out that the person who interrupted this meeting is my sister, I'm done for! I won't be able to access trade with them," Elsa whispered, so that no one could hear. She grabbed Anna by the shoulders and steered her towards to door. "Go! And don't set foot in this place till we're done!" She pushed Anna out and slammed the doors shut.

As Elsa returned, she ignored all the ambassador's accusing glares and continued suavely, as if nothing had happened, "So what were we talking about again?"

* * *

Within five minutes, the meeting, luckily, resumed at a normal pace. Even though the head ambassador didn't stop glaring daggers at Elsa, as if she was the one who interrupted the meeting. Then, it wasn't long before the doors burst open again.

Everyone turned to the noise. Elsa hid her head in her hands. She didn't have to look to know what, or who, it was again. _Great..._

It was Anna all right. Oddly enough, she made her appearance in a somewhat more dramatic form – by bike.

"Wheee!" Anna rode a lap around the room, ignoring the shouts of protest from the head ambassador, and screeched to a halt besides Elsa.

"Oh, surely you couldn't possibly find a better way to introduce yourself," sighed Elsa.

"Oh no," said Anna cheerily, who failed to notice the sarcastic tone. "You told me to not set foot in this place, right? You didn't say anything about bikes! My feet aren't on the floor! See?" She was supporting herself from not tipping over by clinging on to the edge of the table.

Elsa groaned and looked like she wished to be anywhere else but here. The chief ambassador roared, "What kind of outrage is this?!"

"What do you want this time, Anna?" Elsa snapped.

Anna leaned in closer and mouthed, "Ballroom. Now." And without further explanation, she pressed on the bike pedal and zoomed from the room. The shenanigans didn't stop there. Everyone heard a tremendous crash from the hallway, followed by, " Another suit of armor – down! Oops!"

After which the hot-headed ambassador hissed at Elsa, "I'm giving you one last chance, Your Highliness. One more interruption, and..." he madly tore a paper into tiny little bits to prove his point.

* * *

The ambssador whipped out some papers. "As much as honestly may be your best policy...or not," he smirked, "we must confirm the truths about your resources by having you sign here-" he pointed to one line, "-here-" he pointed a second one, "-and here." And pointed to a third.

Elsa resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she bent over to the task.

 _I've never imagined that this country could be so difficult! And so picky. I mean, they mustn't take interruptions so seriously! Even the Island of Berk, during its glory days, was easier to deal with than whom I'm dealing with right now. I should've never contacted them..._ Elsa's handwriting skimmed across the paper. _However, Andalasian resources are the richest and exactly what this economy needs right now._

 _Well then. Lament now, rejoice later. Now, as long as Anna had the sense to not barge in once more, everything should go as well as planned._

Meanwhile, no one noticed a certain redhead inching her way across the floor, towards Elsa, like a worm.

 _Almost there...!_ , Anna thought.

With a super-silent exhale and a super-slow heave forward, Anna crept under the table. She briefly scanned her surroundings

 _That's a lot of feet!_

 _Ok...focus._ Anna looked to the right. There. Judging by the pair of high-heel glass slippers, Elsa was sitting at the far right of the table.

Slowly, Anna crept over to Elsa's pair of legs. She took the letter she was holding in her mouth; gently-gently, she slid it into Elsa's lap. Elsa didn't react in any way.

 _Well, maybe that's a good thing,_ Anna thought as she turned around to exit. _Elsa won't freak. I'm sure she'll notice my letter sooner or later. Hopefully sooner._ A foot swung dangerously close to Anna's face. Anna carelessly flicked it out of the way.

That was a mistake. The foot swung at the side of Anna's face, striking her. Upon contact, Anna fell over, grasping her head in pain. It was so unexpected that she couldn't suppress a tiny little yelp before she clapped a hand over her mouth in the nick of time. The murmurs above the table instantly quieted. Anna froze in her spot while still grasping her head. She looked up in anticipation, sweat pouring down her face. _They heard me. They caught me. I'm so very, very dead now._

The silence lasted only for a few seconds. Then,

"Oi! You kicked my feet again! I told you-" the voice from up above grew more menacing, "-I'd take measures against this."

"I did not – kick – your – feet!" growled another voice on Anna's right.

The speakers exchanged a few more threats before it simmered down to the usual humdrum of the meeting.

Anna, who didn't realize that she was holding her breath for the entire intense minute, quietly exhaled in relief. _That was close._

Slowly, yet steadily, she crept out of the gap between the two chairs. As Anna crawled along the floor, she focused her sight on the hallway exit.

Almost there...

"A-HEM!" the cough sliced through the air, forcing Anna to turn her head at its source. Oh horror! – all the ambassadors' heads were turned to her now. Anna felt their stern gazes pierce right through her. She froze in fear now. This time, she was in real trouble.

The ambassadors hurriedly whispered among themselves. Elsa said nothing; she could only stare disapprovingly at Anna, making her want to cower in shame. The head ambassador glared the hardest of all. His face turned purple with anger, and he wasn't about to bottle it up this time.

"Who do you think you are?!" he roared, so that the entire castle dwellers could hear it. "Barging into a royal conference that is crucial to your entire kingdom! Interfering into royal matters that are none of your business! I'll show you what filth, what ragged scum you servant girls are! I'll show you how to pay the utmost respect to your queen-"

"Your Excellency– _stop._ " Elsa shot up from her chair; her eyes flashed with repressed anger. "Let me handle this."

She turned to Anna's small figure on the floor.

"Leave. Now," was all Elsa said. But she said it in such low yet grating manner that Anna didn't dare hesitate. Anna, now whimpering, scrambled off the floor and sped out the doorway without looking back. No sooner than when she crossed the threshold, she stumbled into Olaf.

"Hey there! Were you successful? Is Elsa comin'?" Olaf cheerily asked.

"Yes! No! Just RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Anna passed Olaf as she sprinted on her way to the ballroom.

"Wait – yes or no? And wait, I have a life?" Olaf asked, confused.

"COME ON!" Anna returned, scooped up Olaf in her arms and continued running without showing any sign of stopping.

Back in the Chamber, Elsa remained standing, while the seated head ambassadar continued his rants.

"Queen Elsa, I must tell you that in our country, we do not tolerate such behavior of servants. Outside of their own duties, they must be neither seen nor heard. They should-"

"That girl is not my servant," Elsa said quietly. "I lied. That's my sister."

Everyone in the room gasped. That is, except the head ambassador. He stared at her in disbelief, then carelessly shrugged the matter off.

"Well!" he said. "Then why don't you learn to rein in that undisciplined sister of yours a bit better? In my country, a princess wouldn't even _think_ of sticking her nose into other people's affairs like this..."

Elsa couldn't take much more. She was too filled with too much fury to listen any more – icy fury, that is. Most people associate anger with boiling up, or at least burning up with such a feeling. Elsa was a little different. Though she couldn't quite explain it, she felt as if the coldest ice was filling her soul.

Well, it was during this circumstance that she felt it. Her sister? Scum?! Undisciplined?! Reined in?! Right there, Elsa wanted nothing more than to unleash her icy fury and blast the snooty ambassador into smithereens. And the way he prattled on about how simply positively perfect his kingdom was in comparison to Arendelle! He was talking to the Queen, above all things!

 _Conceal...don't feel...I don't want to hurt anyone. Neither do I want to make the room temperature drop. I don't want to cause inexplicable phenomena..._ Elsa responded by apologizing for her sister, swallowing her anger and sitting back down in resignation.

But the ambassador didn't forgive so easily.

"Gentleman..." he turned to the rest of his comrades. "I believe we nearly entrusted our resources to an irresponsible queen. If we can't trust her to discipline her sister-" he gestured to Elsa, "-then we can't trust that she will make the ideal trading partner we so crave to see in our potential allying nations." He turned to his fellow delegates. "All in favor to decline this trade business with the kingdom of Arendelle, let them speak!"

All was quiet for the moment; then some muffled murmurs rippled through the group.

"Sir!" one ambassador called out. "I would like to put the meeting to a hold til we can figure out the matter in private." The neighboring ones nodded their agreement.

The head ambassador raised his eyebrow at Elsa. "You hear that, Your Queenliness? We shall decide this matter without you now. The future of this trade rests in our hands. We will decide whether it's worth consenting to your, erm, trade propositions. See you tomorrow...or not."

While all the ambassadors picked up their folders and exited the chamber without a backward glance, Elsa remained seated in her spot. Her fury rose up in her again. Sure, Anna has been called some names Elsa couldn't simply condone, but Anna was the one who busted this meeting – thrice! – drove away some important guests, and ruined her chance for a trade arrangement with Andalasia! Did Anna even understand how exceptionally lucky you had to be to trade with Andalasia? This country was to choosy when it came to trade.

 _Anna...she just..._ Elsa was too angry for words right now. As a perfect way to vent her anger out, Elsa let the temperature in the room drop – by a lot. The chairs and table froze over instantly. Most people without the right gear could have frozen to death in this room in mere seconds. But not Elsa. She let the biting cold wash over her and sooth her.

Her eyes chanced to look down on the floor. And there she saw it – a letter. The top read, _To Elsa, from Anna_.

 _Hmm. How did Anna get this in here? I didn't see her with the letter the last two times..._

Her anger somewhat abated, she picked the letter up and read more. It said, _Elsa, if you're reading this, you must come to the ballroom! We need you_ _STAT! P.S: I miss you._

And that was exactly what Elsa meant to do. If it meant that she could yell at Anna till the younger went deaf, then why not?

* * *

"SURPRI-I-ISE!"

No sooner than when Elsa slammed open the grand ballroom door, the entire ballroom seemed to explode with a chorus of shouts of welcome, screams, party poppers and more shouts in general. Next thing she knew, massive lines of streamers and confetti fell all over her hair and hung around her shoulders. A crowd of the guests, all of whom looked quite familiar, rushed forth to pat her back, shake her hand or scream more words of welcome into her ear.

"Surprise!" shouted Kristoff, who raised his arms for joy and accidentally slopped his tankard of beer all over himself.

"Surprise!" cried Olaf, who has hanging onto Sven's antler for better view. Sven simply grunted and happily waved his ears at the joyous hullabaloo.

As for Anna, she ran straight up to her sister, who remained frozen in place from shock, and grabbed her around her middle.

"Please, please understand, Elsa," Anna half-sobbed, half-pleaded without loosening her grip. " I-am-so-sorry-about-previously-cuz-I-wanted-to-surprise-you-with-this-party-and-I-invited-all-these-guests-so-I-hope-you're-not-mad-but-mostly-I'm-sorry-if-I-caused-you-any-trouble-I-JUST-MISSED-YOU-SO-SO-SO-MUCH!" Anna blurted out the entire sentence very rapidly and without a single intake of breath.

"Ummmmmmm...it's ok," said Elsa absentmindedly and swayed a little under the weight. "Can I just say something. Before I faint, that is?"

Her concerned guests pressed in closer.

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"I want to say thanks," Elsa said. She smiled weakly. "And as for that meeting you interrupted? Don't worry about it." And, true to her word, she fainted.

Everyone gasped as Elsa fell right into her sister's arms. Kristoff, as well as a few other guests, rushed forth to help Anna with the unexpected weight.

"So..." Anna chuckled nervously while helping support her sister's figure. She leaned towards Kristoff and whispered, "Any leftover beer to bring her around?"

* * *

 **\- A shout-out to Protoestrella1 for giving me this story idea. Hope it wasn't too slow-paced.**

 **-If any of you out there are wondering why I haven't posted up any stories based on your requests yet, don't worry. I take every suggestion in consideration, so if you don't see yours posted yet, just know that I will get to it sooner or later. I'm liking the requests so far... Hang in there!**

 **-Thanks for reading!**

 **KoolKat**


	7. To Ride a Bike

To Ride a Bike

 _What the older sister learns from the younger..._

* * *

"Do you want to build a snowma-a-an!? Or ride our bikes around the ha-a-all?!" Anna hollered as she steered her bike, with Olaf in the front basket, down the hallway, past Elsa's room and bumped down the set of stairs. By misfortune, and maybe the heedlessness on her part, Anna, for the umpteenth time, skidded and flew off the bike. Occasionally she'd land in the outstretched arms of a suit of armor. But not this time. She flipped head over heels in midair before bodily crashing into the display, causing the entirety to crumble into smithereens on the ground along with its destroyer. Olaf also flew off, and the middle of his torso pierced into the middle of another suit of armor's spear, while the rest of his body parts scattered hither all over the portrait floor.

"Oh look! I've been impaled – again!" said Olaf's head, which lay on the floor. Then he went into a fit of giggles.

A minute later, a door from upstairs opened, followed by a sound of hurried footsteps descending down to the room. Anna lazily tilted her head back from the floor to find Elsa glaring down at her.

"Might I ask what both of you are doing outside my room when you know I'm busy?" Elsa said reproachfully, hands on hips and tapping her foot as she waited for a passable excuse.

"Aw, Elsa, lighten up!" Anna picked herself up and piled the armor remnants together. "There's this song I've been singing for, what, ten years already? When we reunited, of course I stopped singing it...until nostalgia kicked in." Anna sighed fondly, only for her expression to change into vexation. "And now, this song is STUCK IN MY HEAD!"

"Serves you right for disturbing me on my important queenly duties," said Elsa, but she smiled with amusement. "No more biking around the halls, Anna. You have me now, so you shouldn't be lonely."

"Hey! Anyone wanna give me a little pick-me-up?" Olaf's head called out from the floor. Elsa whirled her fingers in Olaf's direction, and with a _whoosh_ , his torso slid off the spear and his body parts pieced themselves together again. Olaf sighed with satisfaction.

"Speaking of which, what are _you_ doing in you room?" Anna asked Elsa while the elder dusted off Anna's skirt. "Have you made a peace treaty with the Andalasians yet?"

"Oh, pfft, no!" Elsa answered. " I quit contact with them a long time ago. They only have themselves to blame, because they are way too difficult to deal with. I started trade with the kingdom of Corona instead."

"Oooh, yes! Corona is the friendliest kingdom I know!" Anna squealed and clapped her hands. "So I'm not to blame for interrupting your previous meeting with Andalasia after all?"

But Elsa, upon remembering that previous incident, glowered reproachfully at Anna to show that not all was forgiven. Anna blushed and immediately changed the subject.

"Hey, Elsa, are you available to hang out with me anytime soon?"

"I guess," Elsa answered, and reclined against the edge of a sofa. "Ruling a kingdom is pretty hard, so I think I'll take a break right about now."

"Yay!" Anna squealed again and linked arms with Olaf and spun him around in a short celebratory dance. "What do you wanna do, Elsa? Name it!"

"Let's see. Hmmm," thought Elsa. "Let's do something relaxing. I suggest a picnic and we invite our friends along. Or we could go shopping in the local village-"

"Or we can rides our bikes!" Anna exclaimed, grinning widely.

"But I forgot how to," Elsa sighed. "I know it sounds weird, but it's been so many years since a last rode a bike. Sorry, Anna."

"Then I'll teach you!" Anna's eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. "It'll be easy."

* * *

"Ok, Elsa, here's the lowdown: find your balance, rest one leg on the upper petal, and then _push_ yourself forward and start pedaling," Anna instructed her older sister.

"I didn't exactly agree to do this, Anna," Elsa grumbled. Nevertheless, if it would please Anna, she decided it was worth a try.

"All right, then," said Anna. If you reach Olaf-" Olaf was standing at the far end of the hall, waving goofily at them, "I'll give you chocolate as a reward!"

"I'd prefer a relaxing picnic, if you please," Elsa muttered.

Anna stepped to Elsa's side and gripped the handelbar with one hand and the back of the saddle with the other. "I'll guide you for a few feet, then I'll let go and you try by yourself. You all right with that?"

"Yea...I guess."

"Alrighty!" said Anna. "One-," Elsa hesitantly put her foot on one elevated pedal, "-two-" Elsa gripped the handelbars tighter, "and thr-"

"No, stop stop STOP!" Elsa shrieked before Anna finished. "I can't do this!"

"Wait, why not? It won't hurt if you try just once!" said befuddled Anna.

"It's just – well, it being my first time, I, um, need gear to protect myself, right?" Elsa stuttered.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Anna said and leapt into action. "Come on, let's go down to the village. I know a place where they sell ONLY bike equipment, so we can go shopping together. Isn't that going to be cool?"

"Yeah. Cool all right," muttered Elsa, as she followed her sister to get their coats. Anything sounded "cool" as long as it wasn't bike riding.

"Aw, come on, Elsa, we didn't really have to buy a new bike, did we? My old one is good enough!" Anna protested when she and Elsa and Olaf came back to the castle.

"But I don't trust your old bike," Elsa fussed. "It looked so battered and old."

"But it's my good luck bike!"

"Yea, yea, whatever. Let's get on with it." Elsa, covered all over in protective bike gear from head to toe, hopped astride her new bike while Anna grabbed the handlebar and back seat for Elsa's guidance.

"All right-y!" said the Anna, feeling as pumped as Elsa felt anticipation. "One – two – three!" And Anna, holding tight, took a few steps forward with Elsa on the bike.

"Come on, Elsa!" Anna called out as she pushed the bike. "You have to _pedal!_ "

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Elsa replied frantically, too caught up in trying to not tip over to make an effort. Slowly and with shaken feet, she raised her dragging feet and caught up with the rhythm of the rotating pedals.

"That's it – that's it!" Anna said encouragingly. "You're doing it! I'm letting go!"

And, without warning, she let go.

"WHA-AT!?" Elsa shrieked. And almost immediately, Elsa wobbled and lost her balance. She fell to the floor, the bike on top of her, in a heap. "Ow."

"Ooh, you all right, Elsa?" Anna ran over to her sister, who looked a little shaken but otherwise all right.

"Forget it, Anna," Elsa said irritably. "I'm just not cut out for bike riding. What's the use?"

"But you can't just give up! Please, Elsa, it was only your first try! You don't know how much fun it is!" Anna implored. " And this time, I WON'T let go until you say so."

"Fine," Elsa sighed as she picked up her bike. "But make sure you keep a tight grip. Otherwise I get all panicky."

"Sure thing!"

And Elsa and Anna reached the beginning of the hall again. This time, Elsa knew what to expect in case the second trial turned for the worse.

"Ready?" Anna said. "One – two – three!" And she pushed the bike forward again without letting go. "Good, you're pedaling. But _find your balance Elsa! W_ hoa!" This time, both sisters tipped over.

"I hate this contraption!" Elsa said spitefully when she picked herself and Anna back up. She rubbed her shoulder, which didn't hurt that much since she wore shoulder pads, but still, it felt bruised.

"Only because your panicking is making it worse!" Anna replied. "See, I think it's sort of a psychological thing. When you panic, you lose control. When you lose control, you fall down. See?"

"Ugh, but bikes make me so worried!" Elsa protested. But Anna wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Oh, come on! You did this before, remember?"

"I can't remember anything from my childhood," Elsa grumbled.

But Anna grabbed Elsa by the wrist and, despite the older's protests, dragged her back to the bike. "You just have to get more used to it."

But no, Elsa couldn't get rid of the jitters during the first few more trials. It was on her sixth try that her nervousness truly took its toll on her. Elsa rode a few feet across the hallway when suddenly, the handlebars she was grasping froze over. The iciness spread from there, down to the frontward frame of the bike, including the front wheel. The bike screech to a sudden halt, making Elsa lurch forward and off the bike.

"Ack!" she shrieked.

In the milisecond that she was airborne, she made a pillow of snow appear in front of her on the ground. Luckily it served well to soften her fall, but not her irritation.

Anna ran up to her sister. "You all ri-"

Elsa scowled in reply. "Forget it, Anna. I'm so done."

"Elsa...?"

"What?! Nothing you're gonna say will make me feel better!"

"No. Look." Anna pointed across the hallway. The walls and floor were submerged under ice and snow. Icicles were suspended from the ceiling, and a chill hung in the air, making Anna shiver.

"Wh-what's going on?" asked Elsa, fearing the worst. "What happened to me? Why can't I control this?" She closed her eyes and concentrated, but nothing changed.

"Sorry, Anna. I'm angry, irritated, and I can't control the ice right now. I'm sorry." Elsa hung her head in shame.

"Don't worry, it's normal!" Anna came over and consolingly patted Elsa on the back.

"What?"

"Like you said, you're all upset! That's why you sort of out of control. Maybe you should take a break."

"Right." Elsa slowly exhaled. "I think I got too nervous."

"See?" Anna smiled up a Elsa. "Maybe learning to control your temper will also help you control the bike so you don't get too nervous and tip over! Think about it, won't you?" Anna patted Elsa on the back one last time, then ran into her room to warm herself.

Meanwhile, Elsa mulled over what Anna said.

" _'Maybe learning to control your temper will also help you control the bike so you don't get too nervous and tip over!'"_

 _Guess you're right,_ thought Elsa. _I get too nervous, and I should control it. For now, I will put aside bike-riding. It makes me feel queasy._ No sooner than that thought crossed her mind, when instantly, the snow and ice melted.

Elsa smiled. _A good way to work on my nerves._

 _But what about those bike lessons?_ Well, deep inside, although Elsa exhibited reluctance, she really did want to ride that bike.

After all, if she could rule a kingdom and successfully control her cryokinetic powers, what was there to riding a bike?

Putting on a braver face, Elsa turned to Anna's direction.

"Anna, I'm ready to try again!"

* * *

"Aaannnd – let go!" cried Elsa.

Anna instantly obeyed and released her grip from the bike. Elsa steadily wobbled along the hallway path for a few seconds; then, not for the first time in the multiple other trials that week, she lost balance and her bike leaned to one side. Luckily she learned to catch herself by sticking out a foot each time that happened.

"Well, how did I do?" Elsa finally asked impatiently.

"Ummm..." Anna clicked her tongue, trying to think how to best break it down to Elsa. "You're all calm when I guide you for the first few seconds. But you lose confidence and balance when I let go of you. We should totally work on that part."

Elsa scowled. "I know, I know. We've been trying for days, and still no result."

"Don't worry, it'll come to you," said Anna optimistically. "Just because you've started much later than other people who've learned it in their childhood.

But from the glares Anna was receiving, she understood that she wasn't making Elsa feel any better. Was it Elsa's fault, after all, that she lived most of her life in seclusion and didn't partake in normal kid activities back then? So Anna smiled apologetically and changed the subject. "I know! Let's take a real break from biking and go on a picnic! You sure deserved it, Elsa."

"Exactly the plan I've had in mind," was the relieved reply.

* * *

"ELSA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Anna screeched so loudly that her companions Olaf, Kristoff and Sven dropped their picnic baskets to cover their ears, while a horde of squawking birds flew out of the surrounding trees.

"Seriously, Anna?" Kristoff said crossly as he twisted his finger into his still-ringing ears. "Wouldn't it be easier to just fetch your sister from the castle than to deafen us?"

The quartet were waiting outside the castle grounds for Elsa so their picnic trip could start. Elsa for some unknown reason, wasn't showing up.

"Not like _she_ is ever late for anything," Anna murmured thoughtfully. "I'll go see what's keeping her."

* * *

Elsa gripped the handlebars while furrowing in concentration at the task at hand. Somewhere in the back of her mind lingered a reminder that the picnic was today, and the chocolate she was planning to take was going to melt. But she paid no attention.

 _Just a little more practice...I can do this!_

She pushed herself forward and pedaled before catching herself with her foot. Though still wobbling, she felt more sure of herself this day.

 _I'm going to make a breakthrough! I'm going to master the bike, of all things! I can feel it!_

"Elsa?" Anna's voice floated from the first floor up to the hallway, where Elsa was practicing. "Are you coming?"

 _Oh. Snap. That picnic. I forgot._

"Yes, Anna, dear," she called back absentmindedly while vainly attempting another full-length bike-ride across the hall. "Um, when did you say the picnic was again?"

"At lunchtime, remember? It's past twelve already!"

"Um, coming, Anna!" Inside, Elsa felt panicky. She was so absorbed in this bicycle business that she forgot everything else!

 _Look at me, donned in silly bike gear, and I didn't even remember to get dressed in proper clothes!_ She thought furiously. Anna was already stomping up the stairs; Elsa knew she needed to act fast if she was to disappear into the room, put on a different act and pretend none of this ever happened. Besides, she would give anything rather than be caught riding a bike, for ironically, it was she who scorned the idea of it at first.

Thinking quickly, Elsa stepped onto the pedal and pushed off with her other foot as she rode the hall and aimed for her room to hide the evidence.

 _Wait a minute._ The truth came to her like a slap to the face. She was actually riding a bike! Really! She wasn't sure how she done it; all she knew was that she wanted the quickest way to skidaddle back to her room.

 _Did my bike-riding skills make a comeback just now?_

"Woa!" she cried out aloud. She wobbled precariously on her bike, but she kept pedaling around, just to keep the balance. Having forgotten everything else, she could only concentrate on her newfound success.

"Elsa, you've learned to ride the bike!" Anna cried out, wildly clapping for her sister as she veered closer to the end of the hall. "You can stop now, or you'll fall – no – wait – stop, stop, STOP!" Now Anna was waving her hands at Elsa before she could reach the stairs.

"Can't – stop!" Elsa shouted fearfully. And before she had time to throw herself off the bike, it bumped several steps down the stairs before the performing the grand CRASH down below.

Anna winced at the crash. _History is_ so _repeating itself._ Then Anna scrambled down to her sister's aid.

"Elsa! You all right?" She knelt down to her sister, who luckily softened her fall again with another snowy hill.

 _Lucky I was wearing my bike gear,_ Elsa thought as she dusted the snow off herself. She fell badly, all right, but she simply stated with a smug and satisfied smile, "You're right. Learning – or rather, _relearning_ to bike, is easy."

* * *

 **-I know I didn't update my Frozen one-shots in a while. My last fanfiction, Bittersweet, took me way longer than usual to write. I had trouble with its storyline, even going as far as to almost not posting it :/ Also, I'm kinda a slow writer(and crazy perfectionist), though I'm working on that.**

 **-A shout-out and thank-you to TheWonderWoman for giving me the story idea! Apologies if I'm slow at requests(Bleh :P).**

 **-Hope you enjoyed. Cheers!**

 **KoolKat ;)**


	8. Dress-up

Dress-Up

 _Elsa's closet is intriguing._

* * *

 **WANTED: SPARROWHAWK**

 **DEAD OR ALIVE**

 **Appearance:** **clean-shaven face, balding head.**

 **Age: late forties. Disguises may vary.**

 **Charged for:** **the kidnappings and abuse of children commonly under the age of eighteen.**

 **Civilians of Arendelle advised to keep their children under supervision at all times until Sparrowhawk is tracked down.**

Elsa's hands shook as she read through the sign and looked at the criminal's masked face sketched above. She rarely underwent as much fury as she did now.

 _Guilty for ruining the lives for a thousand innocent children across the nations! Look at the face of that psycho nut! And now that we know he's running around somewhere in my kingdom...oh!_ Elsa was so absorbed in her anger that she momentarily lost control of her powers; the icy magic spread from her fingertips onto the paper she was clutching. It froze over and broke up into multiple hard pieces, spilling to the floor.

 _Oh, right. Conceal...don't feel...calm down._ Elsa closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She raised her hands, which were still tingling from the icy touch. Slowly, as she calmed herself down, the icy surge of energy diminished.

But not completely.

The door burst open, followed by a cheery, "Hey, Elsa!"

The noise startled Elsa, causing her to shoot the ice out of her outstretched hands and strike a vase in front of her. It froze over and shattered.

"Oh, nonononono!" Elsa hastily threw a cover under the mess and faced Anna.

"I'm here – I'm back!" Anna announced breathlessly.

"What happened to you?" Elsa asked distastefully. "And I thought I told you to come back by noon." She did have a reason to be suspicious. Anna was dripping with water and goop stains on her dress. Algae hung limply from her sopping hair.

"Pig – pie – I mean not a _pig_ pie," Anna answered as she made her way to Elsa's closet to change, "but pig _and_ pie." Anna popped her head out. "Oh, and ocean!" And disappeared back into the closet.

"Where is my rose dress?" Anna's muffled voice called from the closet's inner chamber.

"Still recovering from the last time you wore it," Elsa answered smugly. At the moment, she could have cared less about Anna's antics than the fact that her little sister came back home safely.

"Oh, right." A shoe, which was on the list of assortments Anna dug through, whizzed past Elsa's ear. "Sorry!"

"Please don't make a mess," Elsa stated firmly.

Anna gasped form inside the closet. "Ooh, how about this?" Anna twirled out of the closet, wearing an long, flowy gown with bright rosemaling patterns as a contrast to its purple hue. She raised her skirts as she waited for Elsa's response.

"Nuh-uh," Elsa shook her head disapprovingly while she picked up Anna's mess of clothes on the floor. "You are not wearing this to the dance." The dress was one of Elsa's favorites, and right now, she couldn't trust Anna with it.

That said, Anna yanked off the dress and dug around for another. She gasped.

" _What_ is this?!" She bumbled out of the closet, wearing an oversized dress with the middle sagging below her waist. Elsa didn't remember where that dress came from, but it sure made Anna look like a pumpkin.

"Ooh, la la," Anna squealed, putting on the airs of a lavishly dressed middle-aged lady and strutting around."Hips here, hips there...ooh, pardon my bee-hind, young man-" Here Anna felled an imaginary person down with her sagging dress, "-didn't mean to knock you down."

Elsa chuckled, then cleared her throat. "It was just a gift, you know."

"From whom?" Anna playfully pried.

"Oh, I dunno." Elsa waved her hands. "From one of those big countries."

Anna giggled.

"Ok, now stop goofing around." Elsa slapped a stray hat onto Anna's head. "Go find a sensible dress or something. Then come down and meet me in the ballroom for the dance.

Anna complied, though not before continuing in her fake thick accent, "I can barely fit through the doorway!" and giggled some more.

Then Elsa's sentence fully processed into Anna's brain.

"What?!" Anna cried, poking her head through the closet curtains. "Not another boring party! Why do I have to come?"

"Because," Elsa replied, "the Peace and Prosperity Day-" Anna snorted at this point, because of the windishly long name of the ball "-has an annual celebration in which Arendelle celebrates its healthy alliances with other countries. You'll see all the royalty there. Better than risking yourself outside in the midst of-" Elsa shivered, "-this impending danger."

"What impending danger?" Anna asked blankly, not noticing the sudden chill in the air.

"Sparrowhawk." Elsa brought forth an extra poster sign on the table and showed Anna. "Know who he is?"

"Euuggghh, no. But he looks so much like a ninja in that mask." Anna tapped the picture.

"This is serious, Anna!" was Elsa's pleading reply. "This maniac preys on children! I thank my stars that you didn't encounter him when you were outside just now."

Anna bit her lip. "Sounds serious enough. Though not scarier than Rapunzel's tale. Like, remember when she told us how she's been kidnapped and raised in a tower for her entire childhood?"

"Then I hope you can learn from her. Until further notice, do not even _think_ about venturing outside." Elsa patted Anna's head in what meant to be a I-know-what's-best-for-you gesture, but Anna remained sullen. "Now, go get dressed. The dance starts in half an hour. Meet me downstairs by then."

"Ok," Anna grumbled and trudged back into the closet. But not before calling out excitedly, "Ooh, makeup! Elsa, can I please use some? Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty please with whipped cream and cherry on top?"

"Ha! How many _pretty_ s do you think it'll take to sugarcoat the _please_?" Elsa joked. But she smiled and consented. If something, even something as trivial as make-up could mollify Anna to compensate for her limited freedom, then Elsa will oblige.

* * *

 _Ok, so do I have to apply foundation or primer first?_

Anna stood in front of the mirror, carefully comparing the two objects. At the end, she threw away the primer, since she found no use in it, and chose foundation(because it was the lighter version of her skin color). She poured a generous dollop of the thick liquid onto her cupped palm and carelessly smothered it all over her face, leaving part of her pink thin lips covered. Some blobs on her face were not fully smoothed over, but Anna, amateur as she was in cosmetics and makeup, disregarded that as she leaned over the cupboard in search of more makeup supplies.

* * *

The masked figure heaved himself a notch up the castle walls with his climbing rope. Glancing down, he spotted several guards on the ground, pointing and shouting something indistinct at him, then rushing inside the castle.

They were about to capture him when he finished his climb up the princess's window.

Well, so they thought.

Inhaling deeply, he furrowed at the place of his destination and climbed even faster. His iron will could pull him through this...

* * *

Anna stared at her reflection in horror. The foundation she had put on a minute dried into visible wrinkles stretched across her face. The rest of the foundation turned into dark splotches.

"I look like a hundred year-old lady," Anna moaned as she rubbed her face into the towel. "Ow!"

Anna instantly jerked away; the foundation stuck fast to her skin and it hurt just to take it off.

 _But I can't show up like this!_

Anna frantically glanced around for a solution. A powder puff stuffed in a jar caught her eye.

 _That's it! Face powder! It'll blend in with the blotches and wrinkles with my skin...hopefully._

Anna grabbed at the puff, and dabbed into her face so hard that the powder flew. When it cleared, she looked at herself in the mirror.

Her face, instead of having the skin-colored sheen she expected, was now covered in certain pure white pigment.

She looked at the jar's label. _Baby powder._

Anna's jaw dropped. _WHAT is baby powder doing in Elsa's drawer?!_

She considered washing off the powder right then and there, but...

 _Wait a minute. This could cover the blemishes onto my skin._

As Anna patted the powder onto the rest of her face, she couldn't help but think, _I hope white face powder is in fashion today..._

* * *

The last heave and grunt, and he pulled himself through the window. He planned to take the princess by surprise here, but she wasn't in her room.

Where could she be?

With his ultra-superior hearing, he picked up thundering footsteps, followed by shouting surrounding the castle.

Guards.

He smirked to himself. Guards: they were useless. He bet even they feared him. Everyone for miles around feared even his name! Because who could match against his cunning, quick wit, and above all, his expertise in disguises?

Guess he'll have to wing the "disguises" part first.

* * *

"Nope-" a thin, velvet purple dress flew out of the closet, "-nope-" a light-blue dress with diamonds encrusted on the neckline also flew out, "-annnd, no." A hoop skirt joined the heap of the rejected dresses.

Anna furrowed her eyebrows – rather, the eyebrows that were shaded black with _eyeliner_ , since Anna mixed up eyeliner for eyebrow kit, making her black brows stand out against her pale face. As for the rest of her makeup, she colored her eyelids a bright blue and cheeks a rosy hue. She didn't like the ending results, to be honest, but she had to rush because she was five minutes late for the event.

 _Let's see... I gotta pick something not too fancy, because Elsa would be displeased._ She definitely didn't want to dig in her own wardrobe, because all her dresses were either much too fancy(Good luck getting around with hoopskirts and saggy dresses) or too simple. _No, Elsa_ must _have something casual yet good-looking enough for the meeting._

A white and cream-colored dress hanging on a rack caught Anna's eye. Sleek, cute and appealing, Anna liked it immediately.

 _Finally!_

Anna then glanced over at the clock.

 _Ack! Fifteen minutes late!_

Anna hurriedly stumbled out of the room a minute later, wearing the slightly wrinkled and dusty cream dress(It was older than it first looked.) and the self-applied makeup. She hopped along the hallways as she attempted to ram a shoe on one of her bare feet. She was so focused on reaching Elsa, and the ballroom, and about throwing an apology for being so late, that she didn't stop to apologize to a maid when she nearly bowled her over. Just as well, because the maid, who was particularly superstitious, mistook the shockingly pale form for her late sister's ghost. The poor maid shrieked and fainted away on the floor.

* * *

The masked figure – or rather, mustached figure – strolled his way around the castle halls. He slipped into one of the caretakers' closets in time and transformed himself before the guards reached him. Now with a cap on his head, mustache resting on his upper lip, overalls topping his black ninja suit pants, and a broom over his shoulder, he didn't doubt for one minute that, cleverest ruse that he was for miles, he could find the princess at last. _My, my,_ he thought, _what a fine ransom she would make..._

...And, when he turned a corner, that's when he smacked headlong into the deathly pale figure.

* * *

"So sorry, sir! I didn't mean to-"

"Aaaaaaahhhh!"

Anna wasn't sure whose fault it was that she, and by the looks of it, the caretaker, received throbbing headaches to last for the rest of the day. All she knew was that, when Anna realized she hurt someone in her haste and apologized, the caretaker's eyes bulged out at her as though he'd seen a ghost. Then he screamed(like a girl) and jerked spasmodically while gibbering unfinished words and pointing at Anna; then, he collapsed to the floor, where he still didn't stop jerking.

 _What have I done?_ Anna thought in horror. Now it was her turn to look scared. She sprinted into the open past to open doors leading to the ballroom. Royals were dancing on the ballroom floor, to the soothing melody of classical music, or otherwise idly chatting away in separate groups. She caught the attention of several bemused guests, but Anna neither noticed nor cared. She ran up to Elsa, who was in deep conversation with a delegate.

"Elsa – come – quick – man – dropped dead – !" Anna shouted and gestured wildly to the doorway. But Elsa could only stare, and that was because of Anna's eccentric appearance. The delegate who felt so rudely interrupted deeply frowned at the princess.

Just then, several guards burst into the ballroom. The noise caught the attention of everyone in the room, including the musicians, who ceased playing.

"Your majesty!" one guards exclaimed breathlessly. "Sparrowhawk has been sighted in the castle!"

Agitated whispers rippled through the crowd when they heard. A tense silence stood between Elsa and the head guard.

"Where is he?" Elsa said softly, yet gravely.

"We found him in the hall, in a disguise and suffering from a seizure – that dirtbag!" the head guard spat. "My men have just apprehended him!"

"But wait!" Anna cried. "That's where –!" But she fell silent when she processed events together. She looked over at Elsa.

"Anna." Elsa never sounded more serious than she did now. "I thank Heavens you even managed to reach the ballroom safely."

* * *

"So the caretaker was actually Sparrowhawk? Woa," Anna expressed her blank disbelief to the head guard when she and Elsa and a horde of guards arrived at the hall, where Sparrowhawk, in his disguise, was being held. He was still gibbering madly when the guards dragged him away.

"Elsa, Elsa! You all right?" Anna cried when Elsa threw herself around her sister's powdered neck, smothering her with hugs and kisses.

"No! I am not all right!" Elsa shrieked, and squeezed Anna till she choked for air. "You nearly got abducted by some sick kidnapper, and you're asking me if I'm _all right?!_ "

"Well, yes, I guess that would've been a bummer if that happened," Anna sighed sadly. "But why didn't he get me when he had the chance?"

Then it hit her.

"Wait a minute!" said Anna excitedly, "When I bumped into him, he looked all scared of me all of a sudden, then fell into some seizure. I thinking that since I look all white, he must've assumed that I was a ghost or something! Do you think that-"

"-he's spectrophobic? Yes – yes! I read on his profile page earlier that he has an abnormal fear of ghosts!" cried Elsa. "Anna, honestly, you look ridiculous in baby powder makeup and my old nightgown-"

"Wait, that pretty dress was actually your nightgown? And what was baby powder doing in your drawers?" Anna intervened, almost angrily.

"-but they're what saved you in the end!" Elsa finished. And, overwhelmed by Anna's narrow escape, Elsa broke down and wept into her dear sister's shoulder.

"There, there, Els, don't cry..." Anna patted her sister on the shoulder. "Robbers don't scare me. Remember when I punched Hans right in the face? Huh? Remember? I can protect myself!"

"You look hideous in that white garb, by the way," Elsa said, abruptly changing the subject as was her habit whenever she didn't want to relive a horrible moment.

Anna looked over Elsa's shoulder at the mirror hanging in front of her.

"I know," said Anna, tittering. "I've had issues with your makeup, and anyways I'm pretty unfamiliar with your closet. I think I'll just buy my own dresses next time..."

* * *

 **Leave it to me to dramatize Frozen fanfics.(I mean, kidnappings and makeup crisis? Seriously?) But then, it's SO me to add a little tension, a little conflict, a little of everything in my stories, to make them more interesting, like a regular TV program!**

 **Thank you, LauffyTaffy, for the story suggestion! Yep, this story was actually based on the official Frozen deleted scene(It's awesome!)**

 **I'm currently alternating between writing Frozen and BH6 fanfics, so I might become a little slower on posting here. It depends on how fast I work.**

 **Meanwhile, I'm gonna go work on another chapter of Sign of the Giri ffc, cuz I promised some of my readers to update that one SOON. Till later!**

 **KoolKat**

 **O.O**

 **(")(")**


	9. Hypnotic Hick

Hypnotic Hick

 _When Anna found out that it's not just any old magic trick._

* * *

Kristoff was walking alongside Sven, who plodded down the road to the village center with a cartload of ice harnessed to him, when they caught sight of Anna. She was just drawing away from a book wagon before cheerily waving farewell to the book seller and skipping down the road with a spring in her step. She clutched a thin book in her hand.

"Hey, Anna!" Kristoff called out. When Anna turned to the sound of the voice, her face having lit up with joy at seeing her beloved, Kristoff gestured her over.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said that you had royal duties."

"Hey Kristoff!" Anna answered. "Oh, wait, did I say royal duties?" Anna laughed merrily. "Actually, I am..."

"Playing hooky?" Kristoff said in a joking manner. Though he raised an eyebrow up at her suspiciously.

"Not exactly. Surely, even princesses ought to take breaks from their royal duties, right? I, personally, love to roam the village. Anyways, look!" Anna held up a book. The cover was worn and moth-eaten, and it had no title inscribed upon it. Only a drawing of a bulging human eye was in the center. An enormous eye which couldn't seem to stop gazing at Kristoff no matter at what angle he faced it.

"Eh, Anna, what is that?"

"Oh Kristoff," she sighed happily, as though he was just being a dummy on purpose, "A book about hypnosis! That kind book seller guaranteed it a fail-safe. The hypnosis will work on anyone if done right-"

"Anna!" Kristoff cried, grabbing a chunk of hair from his scalp and throwing the book a terrified glance. "Are you bonkers?! Why do you even need a book on _hypnosis,_ of all things? Don't you realize that you've been ripped off? Hypnosis doesn't just happen-"

"Fail. Safe," Anna repeated firmly. "The seller is a gypsy."

"Oh-hoh! Now that's a different issue," Kristoff scoffed. "Performing hypnosis is dangerous, Anna. Do you even know gypsies? Why do you need this book, anyways?"

"Because," Anna replied, "Elsa isn't getting much sleep lately. I can tell: she has so much work that it's tiring her out and the snowflakes are circling her head from the stress whenever I see her nowadays. I keep telling her to get some sleep but she doesn't listen to me!" Anna groaned. But then she pulled closer to Kristoff and said in a lower voice, as though divulging a secret, "But now...I can change this. This book, this amazing artifact, Kristoff, is the key to helping my sister. You've got to understand."

"Nope!" was Kristoff's plain answer, Sven expressing agreement with a snort. "I don't trust a book that _has no title_."

"Makes the book even more, hm, mysterious. But in an interesting way!"

"And I don't trust a book with a bug-eye that seems to follow me!" Kristoff objected.

"Oh, Kristopher, you ol' wet blanket," Anna replied with a jokingly exasperated air and gently shoved him equally as exasperatedly.

" _Kristoff,_ " he begrudgingly corrected her.

"Yea, anyways, I'm going to help my sister and that's final! Oh and," Anna paused before throwing in a hint of a biting remark, "if we're getting married one day, Kristoff, you'll have to learn to show a little generosity to the lady. It's how it works." That said, Anna haughtily turned her back to Kristoff and marched off to the direction of the Arendelle castle.

Kristoff and Sven, however, were rooted to the spot, trying to take in the tactless words Anna threw out to her beloved.  
 _"'Generosity'? 'Courtesy'?_ What's up with her?" Kristoff finally spluttered out. He instinctively turned to Sven for an answer. The reindeer could only shake his shaggy head at Anna's shrinking figure in the horizon.

Kristoff furrowed his eyebrows. True, he was rather offended at Anna for the moment, but someone else was at stake. Possibly Anna. Or Elsa. Or both.

"'Generosity,' did she say?" Kristoff murmured, while stroking his chin. Then it hit him.

"Come! I have an idea!" he said brightly. And without further explanation, he traipsed off to the book wagon while Sven lugged behind.

" _But I thought she didn't want us to interfere!"_ Sven whined. Actually, it was Kristoff who was doing the "talking" for Sven whenever he had some type of internal argument he needed to settle with himself.

Kristoff snorted. "Oh, come on, Sven, we're not gonna interfere. We're just going, hm, how do you say it...

"Assure her safety. Just in case..."

* * *

" _...Whish-wash, whirra-kooka and a snap,_

 _Thy woes shalt dissolve into a sleepful nap."_

Anna finished reciting the hypnosis chant from the book in an overly dramatic, soporific tone of voice and waving her hand in front of a saggy-faced Elsa. Then Anna, slowly so that she wouldn't break the spell, formed her finger into a pre-snap position in front of her sister.

Snap!

The moment Anna's fingers clicked was when Elsa faceplanted onto her writing desk and snored away. Elsa was asleep. All credit due to Anna and the hypnosis spell, which, while containing funny-sounding words when spoken aloud, performed itself brilliantly on Elsa. Not surprising, considering that, according to the pretext in the book, the spells worked best on those with magic, Elsa being one of them.

"Sweet dreams, dear sis," Anna murmured, tucking a cape over Elsa's figure hunched over the desk. "I hope you get the rest that you deserve."

Then the nagging feeling came back and nipped at Anna's conscience as she picked up the book and tiptoed away from the room. Anna replayed the memory of when she started performing the hypnosis. When Anna marched into Elsa's room and grandly presented her this book. Elsa's serene expression suddenly turned horrified and started protesting, even yelling, about this book's potential danger and for Anna to DROP THE DIABOLICAL BOOK RIGHT NOW! But Anna, already on the brink of helping her sister and not desiring to lose that chance, quickly turned to the right spell and started hypnotizing Elsa, who, on the spot, dropped her contorted angry face, only to be replaced with a stupefied, confused face as typical of those under hypnosis.

 _But what does_ she _know about this book?_ Anna mentally argued as she gently shut the door and shuffled off to her own bedroom. _The spell worked very well on her._

Anna thought this last when she suddenly slipped on some unforeseen ice and fell flat on her back. She quickly forgot the pain when, from an upside down viewpoint on her back, she spotted a ghost-like figure, slowly shuffling her way across the hall with ice emanating from under her feet.

 _Is Elsa...sleepwalking?_

Without further delay, Anna sprang to her feet and rushed towards her sister.

"Oh, nonononono, Els, sis, you gotta go back that way, you gotta-!"

WHOOSH.

Seven snowmen half the height of an average person crystallized out of thin air and surrounded Elsa. The snowmen didn't look anything like the amicable snowman Olaf. They had no eyes, they were taller, and what was worse, they had icicles for teeth and spear weapons.

Anna whimpered and leaned against the wall in shock, but flinched away when more biting ice spread against the wall. She covered her face with her hands.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" she whimpered.

The animated snowmen looked at each other(Well, so it seemed, since they had no eyes to speak of), as though processing what she just said; then a savage gurgling sound came from their throats and they threw themselves into Anna's path.

"No – NO!" Anna screamed and sprinted towards her bedroom.

She slammed the door and barricaded it with a cupboard and several chairs, but even then she couldn't calm down. Not when the sound of animated evil snowmen banging on her door came booming through.

 _Ok...calm down, Anna...there must be a reverse spell in here, I'm sure of it._

With shaking hands, Anna flipped the book open on the "Hypnosis" section and searched it.

 _Oh, gah, I can't find one anywhere-_ "AAAAEEEEEKK!" she shrieked in pain when a sheet of frost froze over the barricade of possessions. A second later, BOOM, the door burst with exceptional force, felling away the barricade and revealing the snowmen(or rather, zomgies, as Anna mentally called them) at the frozen doorway. Now, there were eleven of them. Like dogs, they growled menacingly, backing her in a corner. Elsa was nowhere to be seen.

"Help...please...somebody..." Anna whimpered. She backed up against the wall and brushed against something leaning next by.

She turned and saw – her sled.

A idea popped into Anna's head. A crazy and risky one that she could only think up of on the fly, for sure, but it was her only chance at getting away.

" _Sayonara,_ zomgies!" Anna shouted. She whipped out the sled from behind, plopped herself stomach-first on it, and with her feet, pushed off against the wall. Anna braced herself for the impact and-

CRASH.

Anna received a mouthful of snow when she flew her sled through the zomgies and toppled them over like bowling pins, but at least _she_ came out in one piece, while the zomgies fell apart into miserable snow piles.

 _Yes!_

And since the floor by now was also covered in ice, Anna's sled zoomed out the door and back out the hallway, where she nearly bumped into her somnambulant sister, whose head was down and arms limp and was slowly pacing towards Anna – with even more of the growling zomgies at her side.

"Elsa, PLEASE! Snap out of this!" Anna pleaded. She didn't get farther than that, because human-sized icy spikes sprouted forth from the ceilings and walls, their tips shooting dangerously close to Anna. She cried out, slipped and fell again. The zomgies, sighting their fallen target, picked up their icicle swords and rushed at her.

"Oh, no you don't!" In the nick of time, Anna picked herself up, snowball in hand, and flung it at one zomgie. Its rage only grew.

 _Argh! Should've learned my lesson during my encounter with Marshmallow bear!_

With another shriek, Anna sprinted away from Elsa and the zomgies. She flopped herself stomach-first onto the sled and steered it across the other side of the hall. Destination? Anywhere, really. Anywhere zomgie-free. And where she could buy enough time to find the counter-spell for Elsa.

 _Cr-rack! Whoosh! Crack!_ The ice was spreading throughout the castle, following after Anna and conjuring icicles and snow pillars on either side of her path.

"Oof – oof – OOF!" Anna grunted when her sled bumped down a set of stairs. Unfortunately, since the stairs led down in a spiral path, centrifugal force took over, and Anna crashed her sled into a railing. She painfully rolled down the last set of stairs and skidded, along with her broken sled, across the icy floor.

For a moment Anna was too dazed to concentrate. In addition to all the other falls, scrapes and bruises, she had struck her chin hard against the floor. But her attention on that was diverted when she heard something whiz by her ear. Her blood chilled.

 _The zomgies' icicle weapons._

Anna spun her head around. The zomgie bunch scrambled down the stairs and were gaining up on her.

 _No sled = just run!_

She scrambled back up, nearly slipping again as she did so, and just when she turned her head to find an escape, in front of her she spotted a-

"ZOMGIE!"

She instinctively kicked the white being's head so that it popped clean off its body and flew right at the wall.

"And a hello to you too, Anna!" the head responded cheerily when it bounced onto the floor.

Wait. Anna recognized that voice anywhere. It must be...

"Olaf?" Anna called out. "Is that you? Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a..."

"No, no, that's ok!" Olaf's head responded hastily. "Just thought you might wanna GRAB MY HEAD BEFORE THE ZOMGIES TAKE OVER!" Olaf shouted when the zomgies drew even closer to Anna and him.

"Catch!" Anna shouted back as she grabbed Olaf's headless body at her feet and flung it towards the snowman, who expertly rejoined his proper form in a trice. "Now let's get outta here!"

She ran over to the snowman(which was a little tricky because the ice was crazy slippery), stooped down so that Olaf could climb onto her back, and sprinted/skated to one of the many doorways connected to the hall, away from the snarling zomgies.

"So what's the plan?" Anna shouted behind her shoulder at Olaf, who gripped tightly. She didn't have much time: every second, ice crawled up the walls and over the doorways, preventing her from hiding into one. The air was so cold that it became painful for Anna to breathe.

"Wellll...I have a book!" Olaf shouted back. He waved the said book, which he was clutching in one tight stick hand, in front of her face to show her.

"What? What for?"

"It's from Kristoff! He wanted me to find you and give you this book just in case cuz, er, he says he has 'reasons'."

Anna snatched the book and tried to catch a glimpse of the title. It said _Reverse Hypnosis._

"Oh – Kristoff – is – a genius!" Anna managed to choke out, from both the biting air and remorse. If I-" _cough cough_ "-come out of this alive, I will _so_ marry him!"

"That's the spirit!" Olaf cheered.

But what hope found its way into the situation quickly ebbed away. Anna and Olaf hit a dead end in the corridor. The zomgies weren't very fast on their feet, but their aim with their spears were fair enough. And so, when they caught up to the desperate duo...

"We're doomed," Anna moaned. She hung her head. "He was right about that silly hypnosis book. Should've never pushed him away." Anna, the same Anna who always vigilantly fended for herself and refused to ever give up, buried her face into her hands in despair. But then, maybe it was the cold. She didn't have the energy to think or fight when she was freezing.

But Olaf didn't succumb to despair yet.

"Hey, Anna! Throw me into the pile of snowmen! This'll give you enough time to enact a counterspell from the book!"

Anna snapped into action. "Of course!" She grabbed Olaf and swung him around a few times like a hammer throw to gain enough momentum. When the zomgies came close enough, she let go of Olaf. He flew smack into the bunch. They caused a terrific crash as they fell apart.

But not all of them. The remaining zomgies merely shoved aside Olaf's disassembled body and the piles of snow as they stepped closer.

 _Come on, where is it?!_ Anna thought frantically, flipping through the pages.

The leader zomgie yelled something garbled to the rest of his crew. It must've been a command, because the zomgies struck up a war-cry, raised their spears and charged towards Anna.

Closer they charged...

Closer...

And...like a flash, Anna pointed her finger at them and yelled out the following words from the book:

 _Obliviation, doest thou your toil;_

 _Smite the enemy by chanting this foil:_

 _Alika alikazoo,_

 _With a flap_

 _And_

 _A_

 _Snap!_

At the word "Snap!", Anna snapped her fingers. The zomgies instantly froze in mid-run. Just like that. They were immobilized like the usual harmless snowmen.

Anna, who couldn't believe her narrow escape, sighed, wiped her brow and sank against the floor in huge relief. "Oh, my, I'm too relieved to even breathe, Olaf," she said faintly. This was too close. If Olaf hadn't reached her in time...

"Hey!" Olaf's head called out from between the cluster of immobilized zomgie feet. "Did you stop 'em?"

"Yes! I can't believe I did it!" Anna was about to withdraw her outstretched finger, but as she did, the spell over the zomgies broke. They shook their bald heads in confusion first, but when they spotted Anna, they growled and made to take up their weapons again.

"Stop!" screamed Anna, holding up her finger again.

The zomgies froze in place.

This time, Anna didn't dare lower her finger.

"So whaddya suppose we do now, Anna?" Olaf said, peering at the zomgies and making grotesque faces equal to their own.

"Well," she said softly, "They're hypnotized, so..." a gleam of an idea shone in her eye. "They can do whatever I command them to do, right?" A mischievous smile stole across her lips.

"And I think I know exactly what to do now."

"Hup, two, three – hup, two three – halt!" Anna commanded the long line of zomgies. With her 'hypnotizing' expertise, she hypnotized the zomgies to follow her and Olaf up to the top of the Great Tower.

Olaf could only giggle himself silly at the sight.

"Would you look at that," he chuckled. "I wonder if they can all perform the highland fling."

Well, _that_ might've been something. But Anna had something else in mind. She stepped to the side of the tower.

"Hup, two three – an-nd, jump!" she commanded the first zomgie, pointing to him, then to the window. The zomgie without objection marched up to the window ledge and plummeted down to the bottom like a stone. But not without a "BLEEAAAHH!"

Anna spared a moment to titter, then ordered the next zomgie down.

"WHEEEEEEEE!"

And so went the pattern, one zomgie out the window after another, while emitting a variety of sickeningly wet sounds.

"BLEH!"

"BLAH!"

"AHOOEY!"

A large belch.

"AAAOOO!"

"PLEH!"

"EEUUHKK!"

"GAAHHH!"

The sound of stomach contents ripping up one's esophagus.

"HACK-GACK-AHOOEY!"

Another belch.

The sound of coughing fit to hack up a lung or two.

And so on.

After the last zomgie, Anna and Olaf cheered and high-fived each other. The zomgie threat was gone and all was well.

Except...

"Elsa!" Anna cried. She gasped and lightly clapped her hands to her mouth in terror. "I nearly forgot about Elsa!"

When she and Olaf slid around the corner of the hallway, they almost expected more sentient snowmen and ice storms within the castle. But no, the ice and zomgies were all gone, and – Elsa was snoring peacefully on the floor.

"Oh, Elsa, Elsa, my beloved sister!" Anna moaned with relief. With a grunt she boosted Elsa's body up and walked her to her bed.

"Good night, Elsa," Anna murmured at her bedside. "I will never disobey you again. Or do anything potentially harmful to you. Even if I mean to help. Ever. I promise." As though to seal the vow, Anna kissed the tips of her fingers and laid them on Elsa's cheek. "Oh, and..." Anna ran over to the fireplace and threw both the hypnotization and counter-hypnotization book into the fireplace. "...I will never trust a book from a gypsy's book wagon."

"Do ya think Elsa'll wake up?" Olaf whispered when he and Anna tiptoed out of the bedroom.

"Of course. I read that when you're hypnotized into sleep, you'll always wake up. That's the good part."

"Oh. But what happens when she remembers that you hypnotized her?"

A long pause followed.

"When you're hypnotized, I don't think you even remember anything," Anna finally responded. "If Elsa doesn't remember, well, let's just keep the entire matter between us, ok? I think Elsa will make a big deal out of this and set off a huge snowstorm! Again! If Elsa, does remember, well, still better than zomgies. I hate zomgies." She shivered.

"Hey, are you gonna marry Kristoff?"

"Totally! But we'll settle that in the future. After I've taken a beauty nap, maybe? And...after I apologize to him, maybe?"

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

 **So, updates here WILL definitely be a little slower. Luckily, thanks to the requests I'm receiving so far, I have a ton more stories up my sleeve. So, I'm far from done with this Frozen fandom! ;)**

 **Shout-out and thank you to Icy Wind, who requested this story. Hope you like!**

 **Do fav, follow...and comment, please. I want to know if my one-shots have gained or lost any appeal to my readers so far.**

 **Thanks for reading! Will try to update again SOON. And by soon, idk how soon...BUUUT, do trust me on this. SOON.**

 **kOoLkAt o.O**


	10. Wingin' It

Wingin' It

 _A heroic deed that led to a new discovery._

* * *

"Elsa! Look!" Anna screamed and pointed. Up ahead at the horizon, a cliff jutted over a cluster of jagged rocks down below, next to the sea. On the cliff, where Anna indicated, a terrified girl was slowly backing to the edge of the cliff as a stray, matted wolf crept up on her. Even from a distance, the two sisters could sense the girl's imminent doom and the wolf's glee of potentially finding himself with a full stomach tonight. The witnesses, who were down in the village square and too far away to help in time, clamored over the scene and also pointed.

No sooner than when Elsa took in the horrific scene, Anna jerked at her arm.

"Do something, Elsa! Sh-shoot the wolf w-with your ice powers or something!" Anna screamed.

"I can't, I might hit her!" Elsa cried back. It didn't help that the pressure was clouding her mind and causing snowflakes to swirl around her head.

"Well, think of something!"

"I can't just wing it-" Elsa started speaking.

 _Wait a minute – unless..._

Elsa unleashed a soft powdery cloud of icy magic and flung it at the girl. But not the harmful type of magic that could strike down and cause hurt. Instead, the cloud of fluff settled onto little girl's back and blossomed into the recognizable shape of...

Wings...?

"Fly! Fly FLY!" Anna yelled. From afar, she made flapping motions at the girl, who whipped her head around momentarily at the delicate form attached at her back.

"Fly!" Elsa added when she sent a gust of wind to the girl's direction. It swept the girl off her feet, making her hover above the cliff peak. But not entirely out of the wolf's reach.

"AAAAAH!" the little girl shrieked when the wolf lunged up at her and locked its teeth around her shoe, dragging her back down.

Thinking quickly, Elsa waved her hands to the right for the breeze to carry the girl in that direction. The breeze was so strong that it swept up both the girl and the wolf.

"Now FLAP!" Elsa yelled.

The girl did flap. She flapped her glittering ice wings in the current's direction, towards Elsa. The wolf lost grip and, shoe in mouth, let go, painfully met ground with a yelp and rolled multiple times down the hilly slope – right into the welcoming doors of the village slaughterhouse. From that moment on, the wolf could never hurt anyone ever again.

As for the girl, she didn't cease flapping the wings in a frantic frenzy towards Elsa's and Anna's direction. The crowd below went ballistic with cheers before she awkwardly glided down onto the grass in front of the royal girls.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Anna asked as she hurried forth and knelt down to the girl, crouched on all fours and breathing heavily. Her wings twitched anxiously.

"Y-y-you s-saved me. Y-you saved me," the girl stuttered to no one in particular. She was obviously in shock.

"Oh no, no, no..." Anna gently said and tenderly helped the girl back on her quivering feet. She pointed to Elsa. "My sis saved your life, not me."

" I can't thank you en-nough..." the girl gasped and, still gibbering out her gratitude, hugged Elsa.

"It's all right, no need," Elsa assured her. "It was the least I could do, really." She blushed. What a sweet girl. "But are you all right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am-"

"You can call me Elsa, hon."

"All right, Elsa. I think I'm perfectly fine now, thanks to you." The girl took a glance at her back. The wings' sparkly edges were quickly melting and and dissolving into flurries of mist and into the air. "These wings are also _really_ pretty, Elsa! Wow, you know, you have the same name and type of magic as Queen Elsa!

"Yes, yes," interrupted Elsa hurriedly, "But now that I think of it, do you have a family?"

Before the girl chanced to speak, suddenly, a buxom middle-aged lady came running over to them, out of breath and her white-cloaked skirts hitched up in both hands.

"Leeza!"

The girl jerked around to the call.

"A-Auntie!" Leeza shrieked. She tore from Anna's grasp and stumbled over to the woman; both held each other tightly, and "Auntie" kept repeatedly kissing the girl on her head and gasping with sobs.

"Do forgive me, missus. I'm Norah,– "Auntie" is what the orphans like to call me. Little Leeza here is an orphan, and I'm one of the caretakers of the orphanage," the woman explained after she released Leeza and wrapped her porky arm around Leeza's tiny frame. . "How could I ever repay you for your kind work?"

"Oh..." Anna echoed. _Poor girl, she's an orphan! I'm lucky I even had fifteen years with my parents._

"Oh, please, don't, it was a just a lucky coincidence," Elsa said, flushing from the compliments heaped upon her repeatedly. "It's the least I can do."

"What happened to Leeza, anyways?" Anna asked.

Auntie Norah chortled. "Well, see now, Leeza here was misbehaving again. Can you imagine? – she ran away from home earlier today!?"

Anna gasped lightly.

"But I assure you, we will keep a better eye on this imp. You'll be a good girl from now on – isn't that so, Leeza?" Auntie Norah gentled chided as she lightly shook the girl by one shoulder.

"Yes, Auntie," Leeza murmured, glaring down at the floor and not daring to make eye contact with anyone.

"Well," Elsa finished with a smile and a satisfied nod, "we'd best be on our way, we-"

" _Bee-doh, Bee-doh, Bee-doh, Bee-doh!"_

All the girls shrieked at the startling noise and swung around to find-"

"Kristoff-what-are-you-doing!" Anna screamed in one sentence.

Kristoff it was, indeed. He was running down the road with a flowing water hose in his hand, followed by a breathless Sven with a portable fire pump harnessed to him and an Olaf swinging by one of his antlers and bee-doh-ing like his life depended on it.

"Incoming!" Kristoff called out and, because he could not slow down in his tracks, inadvertently unleashed a hoseful of water into Anna's face. The pressurized force instantly knocked poor Anna down.

"An-n-nd special delivery for you!" Olaf shouted and threw a bucket of icy water in the direction of the girls.

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Elsa said, spraying a wave of ice at the incoming wave of water, protecting herself.

"Kristoff!" Anna spluttered, lifting up her dripping sleeve and then looking down at her sopping figure and at Kristoff with an unamused expression. "What were you thinking?"

"Um, I thought somebody said there was a fire, maybe...?" Kristoff answered uncertainly. He averted the girls' angry glares and shuffled his feet. "Oops..."

"Wait," said Olaf confusedly, "I thought somebody called for a surprise shower!"

* * *

"So what do you think of my idea, Els?

"I don't know, Anna dear, I really don't know. Sounds risky."

After saying farewell to little Leeza, her Auntie, and to Kristoff and his gang(All of whom looked too relieved to get to away and hide their hilarious blunder), the two sisters continued their leisurely stroll down the village square. It was one of those rare days when Elsa suddenly decided to stretch her legs and take a break from her queenly reign for an entire day. And whom better to spend that full day with than her little sister? But whenever Elsa and Anna had a day out, they always dressed in commoner clothes and let down their hair so they wouldn't be recognized.

"Come on, Els," Anna pleaded. She stepped forth to face Elsa, and spread her arms for dramatic effect. "Everyone knows it has been the dream of mankind to fly!"

"Wings? On me?" Elsa scoffed. She flipped her hair in a I-could-care-less way. "Yea, yea, sure."

"I know you wanna try," Anna prodded. "Come on, Els, what human on the face of this planet never wanted to have a go at flying?"

"Too bad. I don't think I can make wings for _myself_."

Are you kidding? If you can successfully create living snowmen like Olaf-"

"I was singing a 'meaning-of-life' song at that time, so duh."

"-then you can create wings for yourself!"

"No can do. I might crash. Or die of fright. Or crash and then die of fright. Something is apt to go wrong!"

"Oh, you worry too much!" And Anna started making clucking noises at her sister.

"It's for my safety, you little..." But Elsa didn't have the heart to insult her sister any more than she could pluck a butterfly's wings off.

Even still, for all her patience, Elsa couldn't shake off Anna's mocking clucks as they toured the cozy little village. It was when the two sisters reached an open field at the outskirts of the village, that Elsa, without a word, determinedly marched up a little hill. She had made up her mind. She was going to do this.

Anna, as well as the few passing villagers, looked up at Elsa. Her eyes closed in concentration, Elsa extended her arms and summoned the same icy cloud of magic when she first created wings. The wisps dissipated and reattached themselves into a blurry silhouette on Elsa's back. She flicked her fingers again to form the outline of the wings and add some décor. Her eyes were still closed as she concentrated on creating the wings' detail based on the image in her head.

The small crowd aahhed when the ending result finished with a burst of magic and brilliant light emanating from her newly-formed wings.

"Wow...it looks even better than it did in my head," Elsa breathed when she turned to admire the craft.

"Everyone ready?" Elsa said to her subjects, anticipation and excitement mingled in her voice.

The crowd, who were comprised of mostly simple village farmers who didn't get to see such spectacles every day, said nothing but continued staring.

"Fly! Fly! Fly!" Anna chanted.

"Okay...!" Elsa took a moment for her wings to expand even further – their reflection basked everyone in a glowing array of brilliant light. Elsa, now no longer nervous, flapped her wings and jumped.

For a moment, she glided in the air like a fairy. Then she veered sharply to one side, lost balance trying to keep control, and landed into some soggy dirt. The wings shattered and vanished – Elsa got mud on herself – it was all over. While Elsa was only a little scratched here and there, the real hurt washed over her when she realized what a laughingstock she had become to her audience. The crowd muttered and booed. One kid even threw a mudball at her.

"She's a fraud," one person sneered.

"Stop!" Anna stepped up angrily, shooing the villagers away from her sister. "I forbid you to treat her like that. You are speaking to the Queen!"

What Anna didn't expect was the string of jeers to come her way.

"Sure, the Queen of Muck!"

"The Queen has a purdy ice dress and a braid and can make ice magic! She look like a fraud witch!"

"The Queen is the only one with ice powers, you doofuses!" Anna shot back. She turned her back on them and knelt down to Elsa. "You ok, Elsie, dear?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Come on, let's go away from those teasers. They aren't worth it."

Anna helped Elsa up and led her away. It wasn't until the girls hit the main road, hand in hand that Anna spoke up.

"Sorry about what happened back there."

"Well, they did dirty my frock," Elsa said, frowning. "But never mind. What troubles me is, why didn't the wings work?"

"They did for a second there..."

"You know what I think? I think that putting wings on others is easier than on myself. I found it kind of hard to keep control there, or maybe – oh, Anna, I really don't know. Why didn't it work this time?"

"Maybe you just need to practice. Or maybe...oh! Oh! Oh!" Anna cried, snapping her fingers. "I have a great idea! Maybe you should hire Merlin to teach you all kinds of magic and how to control it better!"

"You know? Not a bad idea!"

" He's sure one famous magician. To hire him would be pretty expensive, don't you think? I mean, do we even have enough money for that?"

"Oh, Anna, don't be so ridiculous! We're royalty, for goodness' sakes. Of course we can afford it!"

"Oh, yeah. Right."

* * *

 **\- Another story based on Icy Wind's suggestions. Oh, btw, the last chapter actually had nothing to do with Halloween.**

 **\- Happy Almost-Your-2nd-Birthday, Frozen! WOW that makes me feel old. XD**

 **\- I don't often say this(Because I feel like this can get annoying to some), but now, I would just like to say how grateful I feel to all who are reading and reviewing my fanfics. I feel so inspired to write because of you guys! And yes, even though I don't post that quickly, I still take into consideration all of your suggestions. So in one of those rare moments, let me just say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FOLLOWING, REVIEWING, AND READING, BECASUE I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME! :D XD**

 **xxx**

 **-Here are some my story ideas based on suggestions, in the order that I plan to write them:**

 **Ladies' Etiquette - requested by Timeless Number 1**

 **Prank War - requested by Princess Riley**

 **Heirlooms - Requested by Timeless Number 1**

 **Drunk Weselton - requested by FickleFerret**

 **S'mores Galores - requested by Shapeshifter Cat**

 **Little Leeza - requested by me XD**

 **Annnd more to come!**

 **\- Thanks for reading! Peace!**

 **KoolKat**


	11. Princess Etiquette

Princess Etiquette

 _Just as expected: Anna needed to learn a thing or two about manners._

* * *

"Ooh, wha' that?" Anna said through a mouthful of ham and egg. Both she and Elsa were having afternoon tea in the royal parlor.

Elsa, who daintily sipped tea while sifting through a pile of mail on the desk, held up one embellished scroll with a foreign seal.

"Hey, stop it, sissy," Elsa clucked when Anna leaned across the table to peer over at the scroll.

When Elsa thoroughly looked over the scroll well enough, she rolled it back up with a satisfactory smile. "It's official," she announced. "Princess Rapunzel of Corona and her husband Eugene have officially considered my request to peacefully with their country. They're visiting in two weeks."

Anna spluttered her tea, spraying it over the table and Elsa. "THAT IS SOOO COOL! I've always wanted to meet Rapunzel in person." Anna sighed happily, putting her elbow on the table and accidentally spilling a pitcher of cream in the process. "I wonder if she'll want to be besties with me?"

Elsa daintily dabbed at her wet face and glared at Anna.

"I don't know about this – what do you call it? – 'besties' business," she sniffed. "But before you're seeing any guests, you've got to learn some manners. And," Elsa added, "I will teach you how to be a proper princess, too."

"Oh, come on, Els-"

"You have my final word! I'd send you to Princess Charm School, but all the princesses are way younger than you. I think I will do as your teacher."

Anna groaned and splayed her arms across the tabletop, knocking over the saltshaker this time and earning an exasperated groan from Elsa.

* * *

Anna slid through the slippery hallways with only her socks on while singing, "Do You Want To Build a Snowman?" Anna turned a corner.

BAM! Anna veered a little too quickly into a vase stand and slammed her hip against it.

"Owww...darn it," she gasped while clutching at her hip.

The nearest servants dropped whatever was in their hands, swung their heads in her direction, and gasped as though Anna had said the foulest word in existence. Elsa was passing in Anna's opposite direction and also overheard.

"What did you just say, Anna?" Elsa said sternly.

Anna blushed under Elsa's severe glare. "I- I just-"

A princess does not swear. Ever, ever, _ever._ " Elsa cast one last disapproving look at Anna before continuing her way.

"Seriously? 'Darn' isn't even that-"

" _E-ver._ "

Anna's gaze trailed after Elsa as she went the opposite direction without another word.

"Aw, darn it!"

* * *

"KRISTOFF!"

Anna ran to her beloved, arms outstretched, as though to embrace him. However, behind her she heard a "Hem-hem."

Elsa approached Anna with her arms clasped around Kristoff's neck.

"A princess should never embrace a man she isn't married to," Elsa said coldly. To Kristoff, she only said politely, "You'll have to forgive her for this inconvenience. Anna and I are honored you can come for dinner tonight. This way to the dining hall." She waved her hand to the right.

"Coming, sis!" Anna called back. To Kristoff she muttered, blushing, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh no, it's me you must forgive for not greeting you properly, Your Majesty!" Kristoff said, kneeling down, though it was obvious that Kristoff was joking.

Anna laughed it off. "That's ok, Kristoff, no need for theatrics. Really."

"Hey, you didn't tell me your sister was that overprotective," said Kristoff.

"No, Elsa just wants to knock some manners into me, you know?" she laughed weakly.

"Well, okay," Kristoff said with a smile. "We must look for a better way to greet each other, don't you think?" He took her glove-laden hand and kissed it.

"Well then," said Anna decidedly, "I think Elsa won't object to this-" here she alighted on her toes and gave Kristoff a traditional greetings kiss on both cheeks.

* * *

"Ack! Help! Police! Someone's stealing my dresses!" Anna shouted when she spotted someone half-concealed in Anna's dresses closet.

"It's me." Elsa pulled out of the closet with some dresses hanging over her arm. Many more were in a pile on the floor. "A princess must not shout."

"Listen, what are you doing in my-"

"Exactly what I'm supposed to have done all that time." Elsa nodded grimly. "These dresses are so commonplace! Look at them!"

"But they're so comfy!" Anna pleaded.

"That doesn't matter. A princess doesn't wear outdated things, or anything _this_ commonplace." On her way out, Elsa added, "And I hired the fashion maids to make you something new. Oh, and I bought you some extra Victorian dresses from England. You might want to try them on."

 _Great. Anything glamorous + anything from England = unbelievably tight corsets._

* * *

"A princess doesn't slouch," Elsa hissed when she and Anna stood atop the castle deck to wave at the villagers cheering them down below.

Anna straightened out her back.

"Now wave – but _daintily,_ not like you're a fangirl!"

* * *

At the table:

"Elbows off! No reaching – ask politely, is it really that hard? No eating with your hands; what are you, a slob? When using utensils, you should eat with the outer fork first, then work your way inward. _No playing with your food!"_ For Anna had just taken one pancake and ate through its inners to form them into a smiley face.

"Okay, okay," Anna said, pouting. She slapped the pancake down onto her plate and ate it from there on, even though the way she held her utensils was still incorrect.

Even worse, when Anna tried to cut the cold veal with her dull knife, it sent the piece of meat flying onto the floor.

"Whoops, sorry!" Anna backed her chair out of the table(banging her knee under the table as she did so). She stooped over and while in this position, an unsuspecting servant with a platter of roast goose tripped over Anna, sending the goose flying out the window. The other servant behind the first one slipped backwards, and since a whole line of servants with a platters were lined up behind, down they all fell like a set of dominoes, with the delicacies flying hither across the dining hall.

By the time Anna scrambled back into her seat, veal in teeth, the felled servants were picking themselves up from the floor and swearing something nasty. Something worse than "darn", anyhow. And Elsa could only pinch her nose in embarrassment.

* * *

While walking down the carpet into a carriage:

"A princess must throw her shoulders back, tilt her chin up and stride in poise and confidence," Elsa whispered in Anna's ear.

"Seriously?" Anna whispered back. She folded an arm behind her back to adjust her scratchy dress from there – but subtly, so that the flocks of observing villagers behind the guards wouldn't notice.

Elsa swatted Anna's arm forward. "Yes. And stop fidgeting!"

"And princesses do not casually swing their arms at their sides either," was the last thing Elsa said before she and Anna stepped into the carriage.

 _And queens like you don't simply_ strut _while sitting down,_ Anna thought sarcastically.

* * *

After dance class:

"So how did lessons go?" Elsa asked hopefully when she met Anna outside of the ballroom.

"Fun!" Ann replied. "Waltzing is more fun than I thought! You should try it too!"

 _Sounds like good news._ Elsa relaxed...

...till the dance class instructor appeared. He gave Anna a dirty look and hobbled out of the ballroom, his wig askew and face red with anger.

 _No comment here,_ Elsa thought, mentally sighing. _It's obvious that Anna broke that poor guy's toes with her big feet._

* * *

I could go on about all the princess do's and dont's that poor Anna had to endure for two weeks, but that would be a little overkill. But the day came when the two sisters finally met Rapunzel and Eugene in the Great Hall, both of whom received a most royal welcome.

"Welcome to Arendelle," Elsa said, curtsying gracefully. Anna copied her.

" _Sjarmet, Deres Majestet_!" replied Rapunzel in a cheery voice while Eugene kissed the hands of both girls. She took a look around at the Hall and laughed a joyful, silvery laugh. "Forgive my imperfect Norweigan. Eugene and I are still learning the language..."

Elsa gently laughed. "It's all right, I understand what you're saying. Anna, would you like to say something?" For Anna was impatiently shuffling her feet.

"I heard you had golden hair," she said without thinking, then clapped her hand over her mouth and blushed, while Rapunzel and Eugene laughed jovially.

"True! I did!" Rapunzel replied, stroking her tresses. "You would not believe the story behind my hair..."

 _Thank God...she isn't offended that I said that informal,_ Anna thought with comfort. She smiled and nodded politely while Elsa abruptly changed the subject. "I hope you don't mind tea before discussing foreign trading affairs?" she said.

* * *

Everything went well. Anna held her knife and fork correctly, sipped her tea instead of gulping it(and raised her pinky as a bonus), did _not_ bang the table with her knee, suppressed her burps, did not play with her food, and did not idly chatter (thus honoring the rule that princesses should be seen and not heard at the table), only nodding politely when her guests asked her simple questions. But Anna wasn't happy. Sure, she knew better than to act like a slob, but trying too hard to be the "perfect" princess – someone she was not – did not fit her personality type. _And_ those silly corsets really were squeezing the life out of her.

"Anna? What's wrong?" Rapunzel asked a gloomy Anna, who excused herself from the tea table and made to leave for the royal garden. Elsa and Eugene were deep in conversation about trading negotiations.

"Oh!" Anna cried, blushing again, "I- I- don't worry about me, I..."

"It's ok, you can tell me! I won't judge!" Rapunzel said, holding Anna's hand reassuringly. Anna had just met Rapunzel, but she already wanted to confide to her as though to an old friend.

So, casting aside all suppressed excitement, she gripped Rapnuzel's hand tighter and smiled widely. "All right. But how about I show you my garden first?"

"Sounds amazing! Eugene, hon, I'll be right back!" Rapunzel called out to her husband before the both of them ran off.

"Anna, where are you going! A princess must _not_ run- ok, you know what? Fine. Never mind. Just let your guests judge you on your behavior." Elsa sighed. _I really, really, really hope that Anna doesn't give our guests a bad impression with her unprincessy-like behavior._

"Is there anything the matter, Your Majesty?" Eugene asked concernedly.

Elsa shook her head no and smiled ironically. "I really must apologize. Anna has not had much experience with real guests before, so I tried to shape some manners into her. But I know I pressured her too much with too many unnecessary rules, and I'm sorry. I just- I just don't want to give people a bad impression by letting them know that I have a bad-mannered sister-"

"Oh, please! Don't worry about it!" Eugene put his palms up. "Your sister? She's the politest girl I've seen yet!"

Elsa sighed in relief. _Looks like Anna is kind of like my insecure spot._

"You should've seen Rapunzel and me when we first adapted into the castle," he continued. "If you don't know our past history together, you might think we know everything about a good first impression, but actually, no..."

Soon enough, while Elsa and Eugene were making extra small talk to get to know other better, Anna and Rapunzel came back into the room, laughing like old friends and their arms wrapped around each others' shoulders.

 _I forgot the golden rule of princess etiquette,_ Elsa thought afterwards upon seeing Anna, now all cheered up, chat with her new friend. _A princess...must always have a good heart. And I'm proud to say that Anna always lived and breathed that rule._

* * *

 **-Here you go y'all, another Frozen fic by Yours Truly(aka the writer who takes forever to update and writes overused oneshots that have probably already been covered by some of the thousands of writers on the site but it's still so much fun, so comment fav and follow if you like and see you around byyeee!)**

 **-Thanks for reading!**


	12. What's Norweigan for April Fool's Day?

What's Norwegian for "April Fools"?

 _Well, whatever it was called, between the Arendelle sisters, it was_ so _on._

* * *

Anna woke up one morning with a sore back and a chill in her bones. She painfully sat up, only to see ice coating on the floor and crushed, half-melted snow underneath her bedsheet. Snow piled up at the foot of her bed. And it _snowed_ from the ceiling.

 _What the- am I still dreaming?_

But after rubbing her eyes, thus convincing herself that no, she was not dreaming, she connected the source of the wake-up call to Elsa.

Anna softly chuckled to herself. _Note to self: remind Elsa to keep her powers in check._ Sliding herself across the room to pick up her laid-out clothes(which she couldn't do for long because the icy floor penetrated her thin socks and gave her frostbite), she hopped the remainder of the way out the bedroom and went into the royal washroom to change.

On the way, she remembered today's date.

" _'_ _April Fool's Day,_ '" she mouthed. At least, that's what they called it in the States. The tradition was accepted into Norway recently. But the direct translation of that term to her own native language, Norwegian, she didn't know.

It didn't matter, though – the English translation could mean "Prank Wars Day" for all she knew. The main idea was, she had priceless prank ideas for unsuspecting Elsa, who didn't even seem to comprehend what "April Fool's Day was when she asked her older sister yesterday…

* * *

"Good morning, Anna."

"Mornin', sis!" Anna bounded over to the breakfast table next to Elsa and immediately helped herself to smoked salmon egg omelet with a side of sausages.

"You know," Anna said after a long pause, "you can say I woke up a winter wonderland this morning! Snow covered every inch of my bedroom! So if it's not too much to ask…was it you?"

"Whoops, sorry, hun, had a bad sleep last night. Call it what you might, but I guess my snow powers leaked out again…"

Anna giggled. Elsa pursed her lips as she chewed her breakfast. Yes, yes, she distinctly remembered telling Anna in blank pretense that she never heard of the concept of this American joke called "April Fool's".

 _Hoo, no, my dear,_ Elsa thought, smiling to herself. _Just because I've been sheltered in my room for thirteen years doesn't mean I'm clueless. Why, who else has the power to freeze your room, hmmm? And not just by accident!_ Elsa brought her cup of coffee to her lips - only to set it down again immediately when the liquid dribbled out, staining her blouse and napkin tucked around it.

"Eh?!" Elsa brought the cup to her face. It was subtle, but yep, some holes were definitely hidden in the etched design.

 _A dribble cup? So is this an "April Fool's joke?_

"Ooh, you okay?" Anna shot her older sister what seemed to be a sympathetic glance, but Elsa could see right away that the corner of Anna's lips was twitching from amusement.

 _So it's_ you, _you little fox!_ But Elsa pretended to play dumb and said with an equally clueless voice, "Huh. Strange." And she pretended to shrug it off as she cut into an almond cake.

 _I'll get you for this. It's so on_ , _sissy._

Her smile vanished just as quickly. Because when she prod the knife into the cake far enough, it attacked her face. Or rather, that's what it seemed. When Elsa cleared the cake from her face, the cake was smeared all over her blouse and face. The source of the attack was a triggered spring, now hanging limply across the platter, that was hidden below the cake. In truth, she was a mess.

"Anna, what is this?!" Elsa cried. Arms spread, looking down at herself in shock and anger. But in her mind, she knew the answer. _Anna, you did it again you…sadist! That's an expensive blouse!_

"Oh, so sorry, Els!" Anna said hastily, her amusement less covered this time by her titters. "I have no idea how – A FLY!" Anna pointed at Elsa's forehead.

"Where?!" Elsa automatically slapped at her face. Big mistake. Without thinking, she smacked herself with a paste-covered hand.

"Anna!"

"Oh, sorry, I'm so sorry!" Anna cried, choking with laughter so hard that she was sliding off her seat.

Elsa, gritting her teeth underneath the paste said nothing.

 _It's. So_. _On_.

* * *

Anna poked her head out one corner, peered tentatively around, and slunk across the wall, Olaf following closely at her heels. A basket was clutched in her hand. Meanwhile, unseen by Anna, Elsa spied after them from the other direction. She saw Anna lean down towards the snowman, take out a slip of paper from the basket and show him the contents of it.

 _Wait a minute. Is this part of 'April Fool's'?_ Elsa wondered. Thinking quickly, Elsa waved her arm at the floor. A thin sheet of ice spread to the duo's direction. They slipped and took a trip sliding down a set of stairs, now turned into an icy slide.

Elsa couldn't stop smiling with giddy satisfaction when she heard Anna's and Olaf's surprised yelps fading down to the lower floor. As a bonus, Anna had dropped her basket. Elsa dug around the basket, only to find many slips of paper within. Then, Anna's voice wafted up the floor.

"Elsa, did you do this?"

Elsa, saying nothing, snatched one paper up, scurried away to her room and unraveled the list. It said:

Errands

86 Pounds of flour

12 Loaves of bread

4,5 sticks of butter Without fat

For Charity Ideas

6 o' clock.

Elsa scanned the letter twice. _Oh, how sweet. Looks like Anna and Olaf are working for a charity cause. But just in case…_ Elsa slipped the letter into her breast pocket.

* * *

A quarter till lunchtime. Elsa was working in her bedroom, safely away from Anna.

As her inkwell ran out, Elsa opened the miniature desk cupboard for a replacement – and shrieked. The cupboard was filled with a combination of frogs, beetles, snails and marbles, all of which leaped or scattered all over the desk.

"Ugh – eugh – EW!" Elsa, who was by all means a neat freak, slid her chair back and backed against the wall. She warily eyed the slimy, crawling pests infesting the room.

 _Anna may have given me the shock of my life for sure,_ Elsa admitted, long after she summoned the servants to help inspect the rest of the cupboards and free the place of pests. _But I will_ not _say anything to her. No, I will not show defeat!_

* * *

The local village was brimming with activity as citizens took to the dance floor in the village center, dancing to a merry traveling Irish band. It was there that Anna went to meet up with Kristoff on a date.

"Kristoff!"

"Oh! Eh?" Kristoff looked around the throng of people, spotted Anna on the dance floor, and bashfully came up to her. "Anna! So glad you could make it!"

"Oh, really?" Anna giggled, feeling flirtatious for the moment. "Are you saying this because you truly _care,_ or are you just _saying_ that?"

Kristoff put on a pretend-pouty look. "Why, Anna! Can't you tell when a guy is lovestruck?"

"How about last week, when you tripped me, but you didn't care to catch me?"

"Aw, c'mon, that was an accident! I swear it!"

"Hmm."

"You still mad at me? Huh? Well, how about this to compensate?" Kristoff, who hid a bouquet of roses behind his back, took them out, only for the couple to stare at what he was holding. The roses were completely frozen over in ice.

"H-how," Kristoff stuttered, "did my roses end up like this?" He hung his head. "Sorry, Anna, but I could've sworn that these roses were fine last time I checked-"

But Anna gratefully took the frozen bouquet and embraced it. "It's fine, Kristoff, really." She extended a hand. "Wanna dance?"

Meanwhile, behind the wine barrel, Elsa spied the merry couple, who were attempting the highland fling to a certain jittery musical piece (they failed). Elsa had sent a wave of ice at Kristoff's bouquet when he wasn't looking.

 _You are_ not _going on a date without my knowledge and consent, both of you! Oh, and,_ Elsa thought smugly, _Anna, you totally owe for that previous prank._

* * *

Elsa knocked at Anna's door. She wanted to borrow an inkwell because her own were now filled with invisible ink (Which was probably also Anna's doing, Elsa thought with frustration).

"Anna?" Elsa cracked open the door. "You in there?"

Since there was no answer, Elsa widened the door, and just at that moment when her foot brushed against something did she hear something metallic give way above her.

But Elsa was mentally braced for any unsuspecting prank. Instinctively, Elsa stretched her palm out and froze the water cascading her way in midair.

 _A water bucket prank? What kind of a silly gnome does Anna take me for?_

"Anna, is that the least you can do?" Elsa called out loudly, in case Anna was hiding nearby.

* * *

Of course, one of Anna's pranks tended to backfire.

 _O-oh, yes, sissy, I heard you all right,_ Anna thought smugly as she headed down the hallway from her hiding spot, where she spied Elsa with the bucket prank. _I was just testing you – ah, no!_ When she turned the dining room hall doorknob, her hand ended up smeared with yogurt from underneath the doorknob – the very product of the prank that she'd set up for Elsa.

* * *

Another time, Elsa tried to surprise Anna by whipping up a zomgie in front of her. The iced creation snarled at Anna, but she shrieked and sucker-punched the zomgie into smithereens. Elsa was impressed.

* * *

"A caramel apple, free for the beautiful young lady!" One vendor from the streets stepped up and offered Elsa a caramel apple. Anna had sneaked off somewhere outside but Elsa, determined to track her down, had followed her until she lost Anna in the crowd. As of now, she was more than happy to boost her energy with a snack. After thanking the vendor, she bit into the creamy caramel. Her smile withered as quickly as it had come.

 _This isn't apple, it's...onion!_

While Elsa gasped with shock and disgust, the vendor, who was a die-hard participant of April Fools himself, slunk away to find his next unsuspecting victim.

Elsa was still gagging from the onion when Olaf bumped into her.

"Well, hello there." Elsa wiped her teary eyes and smiled bleakly at the snowman. "Have you seen Anna?"

"Nope," the snowman answered simply. But there was something off in his reply; he was shuffling his snow feet on the ground and humming to himself. He was unable to look Elsa straight in the eyes.

"No, wait a minute-" Elsa got down to his level, suspicious. "Are you sure?"

When Olaf didn't reply, Elsa decided to play a little mind trick on him. She wasn't sure whether it was called reverse psychology or whatnot. Either way,

"Did…Anna tell you to keep a secret about any secret plans she had in mind?"

"Yes, Anna told me to keep a secret about any secret plans she had in mind," Olaf said. He paused, then clapped his stick-hand over his mouth. "Agh! Bad Olaf, bad Olaf!"

Elsa wanted to pry for more information. Come to think of it, she remembered the list that Anna dropped earlier. Oh, and another deduction: she noticed many villagers today carrying similar-looking paper. Why was also part of some kind of grand scheme? Was it Anna who passed down those notes to the villagers? Well, only Anna could go to such lengths.

She took the slip out and showed it to Olaf. "How much do you know about this? Could this be a secret code?" She had, after all, seen Anna with Olaf earlier that day.

"Well," Olaf started saying hesitantly, "I'd tell you everything there is to know, except I REMEMBER Anna specifically telling me not to-" the snowman halted when he realized yet again that he'd said too much. This time he whipped one stick arm out of his socket and started whacking himself in the face with it. "Bad Olaf! BAD OLAF!"

"Calm down!" Elsa shouted. Turning to the list, she studied it, all her deductive skills on the alert.

 _Okay…this is my one chance at asking Olaf about my conclusions, before he learns to close his snowman mouth about the whole matter completely._

When she thought she had the paper figured out, she showed it to Olaf.

"Olaf," she said seriously, "did Anna tell you that 'Charity Ideas' is the name of a book?"

"Yes, Anna told me not to tell you that 'Charity Ideas' is the name of a book," Olaf parroted absentmindedly. His act of penitence was the most dramatic one yet this time.

"BAD OLAF! BAD OLAF! BAAAADDDD OLLLAAFFFFF!" he cried, slamming his head against the pavement. "I can't —even – keep – secrets – Why?" Snow flew everywhere, and it took five minutes for Elsa to drag him off the floor, to insist that he was very helpful to her, and to _please_ not become a suicidal snowman over this.

* * *

Elsa searched up the book "Charity Ideas" in the royal library and brought it down onto the table.

"Now let's see," she muttered, flipping through the pages, "I did wonder why those words were capitalized, after all. If my conjecture is correct, P in 'Pounds' is code for "page". L in 'Loaves' is 'line' in a page, and W in 'Without' is 'words' in a line. So, page 84, line 12, words 4th and 5th."

When she reached her destination, the designated words in the book read: "Flash Mob."

Elsa looked at the clock. Five minutes to six. And the message read 6 o'clock, which was no doubt the time Anna's big plan would start.

 _So that's why everyone was carrying a paper slip today! It was code, meant for villagers to gather together!_

 _Well played, Anna, well played. At least I got nothing to lose now..._

* * *

"Is everyone ready?" Anna shouted behind her. The crowd behind her cheered in response. After receiving reports from a messenger that Elsa was spotted nearby, Anna was pumped.

"Atta-a-ack!" Anna cried, lunging forward. With rebel cheers and yells, the mob followed her lead.

Except when they all turned a corner, a storm of zomgies stampeded into view – with Elsa in the lead. The two lead sisters met eye-to-eye…and knowing that now they were both targeted, they took up their heels and ran from the mobs that they've set each other against. The zomgies snarled and shook their spears at them like savages; the villagers' enthusiasm to mob the queen had reached peak point – both types had integrated, and now both girls were being chased.

"Run, run, RUN!" Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and sped her across many corners and zigzags of the village.

"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Elsa yelled back. Had the risk of being run over wasn't so imminent, Elsa would've burst into laughter at the borderline hilarity of the plan.

"Elsa! Stop leaving trails!"

"Wha-? Oh!" The feeling of anticipation caused ice to let loose behind Elsa. She mentally stifled the feeling enough to cease the flow of ice.

"In here!" Anna released Elsa's hand and jumped into an empty wine barrel. Elsa, who wasn't sure if the barrel would fit for two, frantically searched around for an alternative. The crowd was rapidly drawing nearer…

Without a word, Anna forcefully pulled Elsa into the same barrel. It was a rather tight fit, but at least they were unnoticed while the crowd stampeded past them.

The two sisters sat frozen in the dark until the rushing sounds had passed. Then,

"Els?"

"Hmm?"

"What's Norweigan for 'April Fool's Day'?

"I think it's _Aprilsnarr."_

"Ah, so you knew-"

"Yes, I knew all about it."

"All along?"

"All along."

"And the mob?"

"…and the mob."

"Hey, I mean, this was for charity, too, you know. All worthy causes go to the poor, homeless, and the orphans."

The two sisters turned their heads to one another – which would've proved more useful if they could each others' bashful faces – and laughed.

* * *

 **Princess Riley suggested this one.**

 **Fun fact: I based the flash mob scene off this crazy Japanese prank show that featured random people getting mobbed, and I thought the idea would be hilarious here. xD**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **K**


	13. The Heirlooms

The Heirlooms

 _The ones that King Agnarr and Queen Iduna never mentioned._

* * *

"Elsie, what are you doing?" Anna asked as she climbed up the attic stairs, candleholder in hand. Open trunks were lying at Elsa's feet.

"Hi, sweeitie," Elsa said absentmindedly. She was busy skimming through a book.

"Whatcha doing? It's past 11 o'clock!"

"Yea, I know." Elsa smiled remorsefully. "But I couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore the attic."

"What are you reading?"

"C'mere."

When Anna joined her at the top of the stairs, Elsa whispered,

"Just think! That was my diary from my childhood!"

"Wow!" Anna leaned over to the book, observing Elsa's handwriting. "Hey, I never knew your handwriting was so neat! Can you read some of it to me?"

"Well, which part do you want me to read? I wrote in here when I was twelve."

"Aw, a twelve-year-old Elsa!"

Elsa smiled sadly. Having been estranged from her sister and the real world, her childhood was admittedly a sad memory.

 _"_ _It's been exactly four years since I talked with Anna. Mama says only when I can learn to control my powers can I then be with Anna. But when will that be? Papa says conceal, don't feel. But it's already hard enough, and when I think of Anna, my inner pain only worsens, and that triggers more sadness in me, and thus more snow! I can't control the misery that's consuming me! Even as I speak, frost is creeping up on this book..._ and yadda yadda," Elsa finished. "At this point, I remember I was so agitated that my frost accidentally leaked out and destroyed some of the pages, so no use reading out of those."

"It's okay. I don't want to, you know, agitate you. By the way, what's this?" Anna was taking old stuff out of Elsa's old chest. She found jewelry, a diadem or two, and then,

"Oooh, what are those?" Anna held up some intricate ornamental snowflakes.

"Oh, I remember!" Elsa cupped one in her hands. "Those were decorations on the Christmas tree in my room." Indeed, it looked like the ideal decoration for a tree.

"It was fun making those," Elsa sighed tenderly. "Wait, I think I had a diary entry about these..." She flipped through the pages for a minute. " _The ice could last forever if I made it that way, and what's more, they were one of the rare times I was allowed to use my powers without fear. It's almost like...the more I used my powers, the more comfortable I was facing them, with all its beauty and danger..._ "

"Which is probably why you had a blast when you were alone on top of that snowy mountain and creating yourself an ice castle and an adorable dress," Anna giggled.

"Thank you, Anna." Elsa slammed the diary shut with a satisfied sigh. "Other than that, I didn't keep too much memorabilia in my childhood."

"Yea, but I wonder if mom and dad stored my things, too?" Anna wondered aloud. She turned around, stepped and dodged through piles of chests and old furniture covered with webbed, moth-eaten sheets. A minute later, Elsa heard some thuds followed by "Whoops! Ow..."

"You okay, Anna?" Elsa said absentmindedly while skimming through her older diaries. Up to this point, she learned to not react to Anna's shenanigans, since she was so clumsy.

"Yup!" Anna grunted. She hauled in two small chests as well as a package or so. "So I opened the door to a shelf, and some things tumbled down, like, I dunno, my childhood bike."

"Ouch." Elsa laughed, then helped Anna break open the iron lock with a pry bar and open the lid.

"Oh, lookie!" Anna said with bated breath while she held up the contents of the chest. "That was my blankie that I'd hug when you were no longer- when I was lonely." She also took out two dolls. "And yes, I remember these two! They look just like you and me!" She stroked the blond-haired one."

Elsa nodded tersely while biting back sobs. Anna was so lonely without her big sis that she was reduced to playing alone. She wondered, not for the first time, why her childhood couldn't have been more normal.

"I guess your stuff have more memories and meaning in them than mine," Elsa admitted, pulling her chest over and inspecting it one more time. "Mine are fancy-shmancy jewelry that honestly, I have no use for and should give to a good cause."

"But not your little tiara!" Anna took the diadem out of Elsa's hands. "It's got such lovely snowflake patterns carved into them. It's one of a kind, really."

Elsa shrugged. She could care less about her old stuff, come to think of it. "Now what else you got in there?"

Anna ravaged further into the second chest, carelessly tossing everything out and (absentmindedly) at Elsa as she inspected each for something interesting. "Jewelry, jewelry, more jewelry that I don't care about – ooh, my old nightgown! – my old dresses, schoolbooks, my old tea set..."

Elsa folded the moldy-smelling gown aside; then she noticed, among Anna's pile, a pile of letters strung together.

"What's this?"

"Oh, these are-" Anna's face fell suddenly at the realization, "-some letters that I never saw before. What are they doing here?"

"What?" Elsa snatched them up.

 _I recognize those! These were the letters that wrote in reply to Anna's! But why would they end up in Anna's chest?_

Suddenly, Elsa dug around her own chest and found what she was looking for: Anna's letters addressed to Elsa. Now both girls were in possession of the others' letters.

"Why, yes," Elsa said softly, "I remember finding yours under the doorway every now and then. Mom and Dad would show them to me and I'd read them. That is, till their...yeah." She hugged the letters to her chest. "I never told you this before, Anna, but truly, I did read your letters."

"Then how come I never received your replies before?"

Elsa smiled sadly. "It was...complicated. For one, my parents strongly disapproved. And I was so scared of that – as well as hurting you again – that I didn't take up the initiative. That said, it never meant that I didn't reply at all. I gave Mum and Dad my letters so that you'd read them when the time was right." Elsa was now shaking with emotions. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...if only you'd received my replies, your childhood wouldn't have been so messed up.

"Oh, Elsa..." Anna leaned over the mess pile and gave Elsa a clumsy one-sided hug – before she teetered on the spot. "No hard feelings! What you did was out of love. You saved the letters for the right time. And I have reason to believe that the right time came."

"You're right." Elsa bit back the tears. Reading her own handwriting would bring back the guilt she poured into the handwriting. Which was why she felt relieved but somehow satisfied after Anna yawned sleepily and announced, "You know what? Let's read them tomorrow, maybe at breakfast. What do ya say?"

Elsa consented, and both agreed to pack up for the night. That is, until Elsa heard something else crash in Anna's direction.

"Ann, you all right?" Elsa, candleholder in hand, came to Anna's side to light up the hallway and see what she was doing.

"Elsa! Come!" Anna was peering into a broken chest, surrounded by splintered wood. "I tried to place a chest back on the shelf, but it was too heavy and I ended up losing my balance and dropping the thing through this moldy chest." She blushed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Anna opened the large chest. At first, they found nothing much of significance save some old sheets and documents, but upon closer look, inside were sealed papers, astronomical charts, and strangely enough, books about wizards, as was confirmed when Elsa picked up a book titled _Merlin Mysteries_ and _Merlin Sightings: Accounts_.

"Whose chest is this?" Anna asked.

"Our parents'. You can see on their initials on this paper, for instance. It must be theirs."

"Why would Mum and Dad hide some sources about Merlin? Why did they never tell us about him?" Anna asked.

"No idea," Elsa said, taking up a map with scribbles and markings. "But I wager that before their deaths, they probably wanted to seek out help from someone who knew of my snow powers."

"Like the trolls?"

"Nah. Someone who could help me _control_ my powers. Now, we all know that wizard sightings are so extremely rare they are now considered myths, right? Well, obviously, our parents have been picking up information on the only wizard reported to exist. Why, look at the research they've been doing on him!"

"Too bad they didn't find him," Anna admitted. "I wonder if he even exists?"

"Exactly, Anna. We can't tell. But," Elsa concluded, "maybe that's also the reason they never told us. Maybe they considered it as clinging onto false hope?"

"Yeah. But I mean, you already learned to control your powers, so you don't need to find him, right?"

"Yes. But I still need practice." Elsa furrowed her eyebrows as she traced her mother's handwriting, with her finger, trying to decipher it.

That night, Anna didn't sleep much. She was too busy wondering about Merlin. Whether he existed. Whether the reports of his sightings were true. And if he did exist, how he allowed himself to be known as a myth. And how powerful he was. Could he really have helped Elsa back in the days? Well, maybe Elsa wasn't necessarily in a crisis any longer, but honestly, Anna's imagination ran wild as she thought of more ways to research and find the wizard.

 _Out of all the things we inherited from you, Mum and Dad, the sources for finding Merlin are the most interesting. Either way, thank you for trying to help!_

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **K**


	14. S'mores Galores

S'mores Galores

 _Oh, and gloves, too._

* * *

Sometimes, Anna still noticed Elsa wearing gloves. This wouldn't have concerned Anna had she not noticed how Elsa looked anxious every time she did so.

 _It's almost as thought she's unwillingly clinging to the conceal-don't-feel mentality,_ Anna thought. B _ut every time I tell her to get rid of the gloves, she says she feels uncomfortable doing so._

That isn't to say that Elsa resumed isolating herself, like she did many years ago. No, she made sure to be there for Anna as much as possible without it interfering in her duties. But still, Anna was concerned, and she expressed this to Kristoff next week.

"Just think: she can't let go of her past, and if we don't help Elsa snap out of it somehow, she might start repressing her feelings again, and look how _that_ turned out!" Anna said to Kristoff, who was down in the village hauling ice blocks with Sven.

"Mm-hm," Kristoff slowly replied, stacking up some smaller ice piles on top of a bigger one. "Don't want another eternal winter in Arendelle, do we? Bad for business, I tell you."

"Oh, you and your I-could-care-less attitude towards everything. This is serious!" Anna huffed, though she couldn't help smiling because he was so lovably sassy. "What would you recommend I do?"

Kristoff, dropping off a stack of cubes in a crate, didn't reply at first. Finally, "Didn't you consider talking to her?"

"I did! I requested that she destroy those old gloves, but nooo, she says she'll keep them because they make her feel 'more secure' or some kind of yadda." Anna sighed. "What would you do, Kristoff?" So anxious was she, in fact, that she took a chipping block and began chipping away on the ice she was perched on without being aware of what she was doing.

"Whoa there, princess! First-" Kristoff lifted Anna off the ice block, "Have some consideration for my ice! Second, lemme ask you this instead: what would _you_ do? _You._ Not what I would do. You're her sister; you should know how to get your message across somehow!

"I-I don't-" Anna stammered. "She's just so stubborn-!"

"Look, I'm not good at advice. Or frankly, negotiations," Kristoff said. "But Sven and I are planning a stakeout this evening. We'll be roasting sausages and s'mores. You're invited. Bring Elsa, and we'll have fun, put her in a good mood. Maybe she'll be in such a good mood that you'll covince her. Do as you will."

 _But are you sure it's that simple?_ Anna thought as Kristoff strode away to fetch more ice blocks.

Eyebrows furrowed, feet crossed, Anna contemplated on Kristoff's message for a while. Slowly, her smile starting spreading more and more across her face, till she squealed and cupped her hands around her face with glee.

"Kristoff, wait! I got it! I have a plan!"

* * *

"Hurry, Elsa!" Anna took her sister by the hand and tugged her along the windy road to the outskirts of the village not far from the castle. Both sisters had lanterns to guide their path.

"What's the hurry, sis?" Elsa laughed, picking up her skirts with one hand before proceeding. She then sniffed the air. "It's smells like...a fire? Are pinecones burning, too?"

"Yup!" Anna brushed away a tree branch to reveal a gently burning campfire, with Kristoff and Sven sitting around it.

"So _that's_ what you dragged me into," Elsa replied with a smirk. "This better be worth my time." Nevertheless, she followed Anna.

The evening was more entertaining than Elsa first thought. While everyone sat on logs and warmed themselves near the fire, Kristoff passed sausages and chocolate-covered s'mores to all, which were very delicious, especially when the s'mores were half-melted over the fire. Kristoff told the most far-fetched yet amusing tales of his adventures in ice harvesting, enough to make Anna strongly question him every few sentences. He also told the funniest jokes that made even Elsa shake with laughter. And Anna was relieved that Elsa had her gloves tucked away for now.

 _Anna had found a very clever, hospitable significant other,_ Elsa thought, her eyes glazed over in thought as she roasted a sausage over the campfire. It was a small fire, so Kristoff and Anna regularly stoked it with more pinecones and kindling. _I still have to observe him before I give my blessing and let them tie the knot. But I'm so glad Anna's happy with him..._

"What are you doing?" Elsa asked curiously. Kristoff and Anna finished writing something in each of their paper slips and tossed them into the fire. They spared each other a subtle, knowing glance before Anna proceeded. "It's just that, well, a shooting star just passed us. And Kristoff told me that when a star passes over a campfire, instead of making a wish, you have to list one thing that currently troubles you in your life and toss the list into the fire. And I wrote mine, 'cause I do have a few secret issues myself. You should try it, Elsa."

Elsa immediately saw through Anna's trick, though.

 _This must be a trick to urge me to open up about my feelings about the gloves, huh?_ Elsa thought almost scathingly. _Clearly you haven't given up on your efforts, have you?_

"It's about the gloves issue, isn't it?" Elsa said quietly.

Anna didn't reply. Kristoff seemed fairly surprised and glanced at Anna as though to say, _Now what?_

"So you're assuming that I will write down my burden as 'gloves', Elsa continued.

"If they truly do bother you," Anna said slowly. "Look, maybe I'm assuming wrongly, but you seem more miserable each time you wear them, like you're blocking yourself out-"

"And you're right," Elsa said abruptly. She pulled out her gloves and tossed them into the fire, where they shriveled and burned up. "I was worried that any feelings of anxiety would make it harder for me to control my powers. I was doubting myself. But as I learned a long time ago, love helps me control my powers, even when I feel doubtful about the limits of this control." She shrugged. "I don't know what came over me."

Anna smiled with relief.

 _The plan worked! Which means..._

Anna then turned to Kristoff and nodded; he then lifted a box out of a cart and brought it over to Elsa's feet.

 _Why, that's...my box of gloves!_ Elsa thought.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Kristoff put his hands up in self-defense. "Anna got me into this!"

"Aha."

Anna put her hand upon Elsa's shoulder. "Look, I'm not gonna try pressuring you," Anna said gently, "But just so you know, you have nothing to lose. _Nothing,_ but your gloves. And if you understand, well, please understand that I'm just trying to help."

Elsa took out a second pair of gloves and looked at them thoughtfully. Then, she drew back her hand and tossed that pair into the fire. Another pair followed. And another. And another. Anna, Kristoff and even Sven helped pitch in.

The campfire, now turned bonfire, never shone brighter in the sea of pitch-black night surrounding it.

* * *

 **Shapeshifter Cat requested this, like, forever ago, and I'm sorry for the wait... DX**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **K**


	15. Little Leeza

Little Leeza

 _The second encounter with the princess of Arendelle changed her life forever._

* * *

 **Note: Rating is more K+ near the beginning of the story due to some non-explicit descriptions of abuse(Even though I know all you kiddos out there are still gonna read this anyways :P).**

Anna skipped over to the market stands, trying to guess the ripe honeydew melons from the unripe ones. After a run-in with the under cook, Greta, who was having problems that day, Anna volunteered to come along. Greta, naturally, was having problems making the notoriously lazy kitchen maids go shopping to the local village market to collect needed provisions. She refused help from royalty, but Anna insisted so much – out of loneliness more like, since Elsa was too busy – that Greta gave in.

 _Wait a minute...I heard Greta say once that a ripe watermelon has a "dull" sound when you knock on it. I know that honeydew melons aren't the same thing exactly, but okay, let's assume they're similar._ She stacked melons on top of each other and knocked on each for the sound. Then she removed one melon from below, only to find a child's head peeping out from beneath.

"What th-"

Staring at her great find, Anna's memories took a jump back to the day when Elsa rescued a little girl from being eaten by a wolf.

The girl hiding in the melons...

It was the same orphan girl...

Little Leeza.

"What are you-" Anna gasped.

"Hey!" The girl shushed Anna loudly. "Be quiet!"

"But what are you-?"

The little girl didn't pause for idle chit-chat. She grabbed the nearest melon and forcefully covered it over her head, disappearing beneath the melons. And it was then that Greta returned.

"Have you found a melon, my dear?"

"No – I mean, yes!" Anna said quickly, thinking about Leeza. "I mean-" she held out a random melon. "This is ripe, right?"

Greta didn't look convinced.

"No dear. A melon is ripe if it's golden with possibly some brown speckles. This one isn't." Greta edged towards the stand to pick off another melon.

 _Rats,_ Anna thought miserably. She added in another mental facepalm when Greta nearly dropped the melon and clutched at her heart, pointing at the crown of Leeza's head underneath.

"W-w-what – _Was ist das?!"_ she cried, her German growing more pronounced.

"Please, I can explain!" Anna said quickly. "I've met the girl before-"

"No – I can explain," the girl piped up. She wiggled out of the heap of melons, scattering them all over the place. "I was hiding because I'm running away from the orphanage." From the melon stack, she fished out a sack tied to a stick as though to prove her point. "Don't tell _anyone_ about this!" she told them fiercely.

Anna and Greta broke into inquiries.

"B-but sweetie, where are you planning to run away?" Greta asked.

"And why are you running away?" Anna added.

"I hate the orphanage and I hate the caretakers!" Leeza protested. "I especially can't stand that mean Mistress Grimley!"

 _Whoa,_ Anna couldn't help thinking. _This Leeza had more personality to her than I thought. Last time, I got the impression that she was more shy and flighty. This Leeza is more guts and grit, I guess._

"Leeza! Where are you?" a woman's voice chirped from the crowd. "Leeza!"

Leeza's eyes widened. "It's _her!_ " she whispered, hiding behind Anna and Greta's skirts.

"Oh, nononono..." The two ladies said simultaneously, trying to coax Leeza out, but she whimpered and drew back. Anna and Greta looked at each as to say: _now what?_

"Excuse me!" The same lady approached the undercook and the princess. "Have you seen a little girl, aged eight, brown eyes and brown hair in pigtails?" The assumed Mistress Grimley was fairly young, with eyes the color of bluebells and dirty blonde flyaway hair. In fact, she was fairly attractive, which put Leeza's description of "mean" Miss Grimley into doubt.

"Ummmm..." Anna stalled. She gave Greta a look: _No._

Greta hesitated too, but in the end,

"Oh, her!" she laughed. "Actually, we think we found her here-" she parted to reveal Leeza, whose head was down and fists were tight around her traveling stick.

"Oh, Leeza, how _could_ you run away and distress your Auntie Grimley!" One can imagine how many times Mistress hugged Leeza, who stood stone still and didn't return the favor. "I'm Mistress Grimley, by the way, the new head of the orphanage. I'm sorry you had to put up with this little one, she's rather difficult," she laughed. "Come along, Leeza." She led Leeza away and out of sight.

"I said _come!"_ Mistress commanded her more sternly, tugging more forcefully.

 _Well, Greta may think she's doing the right thing, betraying Leeza like that, but I don't care how nice you look. For Leeza's sake, I don't trust Mistress either._ Anna crossed her arms at Greta, who blushed and protested in defense, "Now, now, Your Highness, I was only doing it for Leeza's own good!"

And Anna and Greta continued to another market, though Anna still wondered about Leeza.

"Wait." Anna grabbed Greta's free hand and bid her silent. Through the throng and chatter of people and sellers, Greta strained her ears.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"Leeza..." Anna murmured.

"Pardon, Your Majesty?"

Anna didn't answer and merely let go, sprinting away from Greta.

"Anna – wait!" Greta's first thought was to keep an eye out for the princess. She was too well aware of Anna's tendency to always bump headfirst into trouble.

Anna, however, thought of nothing else but to follow the assumed voice of Leeza. Sure enough, when she reached the own center pavilion, she saw what she feared she'd see: Grimley mercilessly flogging little Leeza. Her whip – yes, a whip! – flicked through the air before landing onto its victim across the back and shoulders.

"And that-" _crack!_ "-is what you get-" _crack!_ "-for running away-" _crack!_ " from me! And for disobeying me, for that matter! Ungrateful little animals like you should be happy to have a roof over their heads and food to eat! What were you thinking, spoiled child?"

"Because I hate you! I hate you and your tyranny – yes, that's what you are, a tyrant!" Leeza screamed, writhing in Grimley's iron grip. "Plus," she muttered, "you lectures are so cliché." She kicked Grimley in the leg and meant to wiggle from her grasp. This enraged Grimley even further, and growling like a bull, she jerked Leeza over and slashed her across the face this time.

The passerby murmured amongst themselves, sympathizing for the girl. Why no one took the initiative to act was out of the question for Anna; either way, the kind soul couldn't take another second of this injustice.

"Stop!" she cried, storming over to Grimley and pointing at her. "I command you to stop!"

On hearing the familiar voice, Grimley immediately ceased whipping Leeza and turned to her opponent, her face red and flyaway hair entangled.

"Oh, well, you must forgive me, dearie. But I assure you, this is just a matter of discipline and instilling good behavior into our orphans. Everything is in good hands."

"' _Good hands'?_ Tell me, Mistress Grimley," Greta said coldly, who caught up to Anna, "How is whipping an act of discipline? Are you sure aren't instead instilling _fear_ into Leeza, just like you probably have with many other orphans before her?"

"It isn't your place to tell a headmistress what to do, peasant girls!" Grimley screeched. And Grimley cracked the whip in Anna's and Greta's direction, forcing them to step back.

Anna sucked in her breath. _Desperate times call for desperate measures._

"In the name of the Princess of Arendelle-" here Anna slipped off her head scarf, "-I command you to _stop!"_ Mistress Grimley, as well as everyone in the pavilion, recognized the strawberry blonde princess right away. The nearby sentry heard the princess's command, and they came to her side in case of further trouble. Grimley just stood there, spluttering and turning redder in the face, possibly from embarrassment at having treated the princess herself so rudely. Leeza stared with her little mouth rounded like a cherry.

"Well, I'll be a monkey's aunt, if it isn't Your Highness herself," grumbled Grimley finally, stooping into a half-hearted bow. "What does Your Highness desire?"

"First of all, stop abusing your orphans. Second..." Anna's blood boiled at this, "you're under arrest for child abuse."

The guards stepped forward, but Grimley broke into a hysterical laugh. "Is that so?" she screeched. "Ha! The rules of the orphanage say distinctly that the caretakers are allowed to discipline the children exactly as they see fit. The law is on _my_ side! If you care so much for this orphan, she needs to be adopted first!"

 _It's true. Even Elsa told me during Law and Order lessons that some rules can't be manipulated this simply._

Thinking quickly, Anna finally blurted out, "So be it. I'll adopt her myself."

"Huh?" said Greta, who had finally caught up to the princess.

"Huh?" said Leeza, who looked as though she just dropped into a relishing dream she never wanted to wake up from.

The crowd started muttering the great news that the princess would adopt a child.

Grimley procured the needed paperwork to sign, and Anna borrowed a pen and a stamp to sign, then give it a seal of approval.

" _And_ you'll need to pay 25,000 kronor for the child," Grimley added slyly.

Anna immediately took out from her purse a small sack of gold coins. "Take it and keep the change."

"Here, then." After biting on the gold to check its authenticity, she clutched it and roughly threw worn-out Leeza onto the ground before stalking away. "I'm glad to wash my hands of this wench anyways."

"Are you okay?" Anna cried. She came up close to examine Leeza's bruised features. She had a bruise across her cheek, and her lip was cut, but nothing too critical. "Where are you hurt, sweetie?"

"'Hurt' is an understatement," Leeza replied. Anna was amazed how Leeza could keep her voice so steady after getting beaten and humiliated in front of the public. "I'm used to this. It's the head, though, that's tender..."

"Poor dear." Anna picked up the girl and hugged her tightly. Leeza, who was still in shock at being adopted by a princess, didn't say anything and only clasped her hands around Anna's neck.

 _It's as though her psyche trying to adapt to this drastic situation,_ Anna thought

It was only after Greta washed Leeza's wounds and Anna consoled her with a melon slice, that the stoic girl broke down, and she laid her head on Anna's knee and wailed and wailed all her troubles out. Greta gladly left Anna and the child alone, with comments of "Well, someone will _have_ to go shopping eventually!"

"Of course," Anna replied, who still didn't entirely forgive Greta for betraying Leeza earlier. She stroked Leeza's quivering back. "Cry it all out, dear. I'll never let anyone hurt you again."

"Th-thank you..." Leeza sighed, relaxing and digging further into Anna's folded hems of her skirt. "M-Mama..."

 _Mama?!_ The realization was like a slap in the face to Anna. _Oh, right – I'm a mother now. Elsa will definitely attack me with questions – if not with an army of angry zomgies first. But no matter... all that matters now is that Leeza is rescused from that hellhole of an orphanage._

When Leeza calmed down a bit, Anna cupped her face into her hands.

"Tell me, how about we spend the day together, just you and me?"

* * *

Evening at 6 o'clock found Anna and Leeza sitting at the doorsteps of the castle with Leeza happily licking a popsicle, wearing a brand new dress(unlike the old beggar rags she had to wear), and toying with the brand new trinkets that Anna bought for her in the village square. In an effort to get to know each other better, Anna took Leeza out today and provided as much entertainment for her as she could.

 _Let's see,_ Anna recalled, _I played tag and hopscotch with Leeza. I'm glad she really enjoyed herself, though she's so good at hide-and-seek that it took me an hour to find her!_ Anna breathed out. _Guess that's what you get when you're always on the run._

 _I taught her how to dance to the village dances. And I met Kristoff there again..._ here she sighed dreamily. _Though when Leeza stole some pepparkakors, I was the one who had to take responsibility for her actions. He thought that Kristoff and I were her parents, even though Kristoff tried swore on his honor that he was not the father of such a unruly child!_ Anna giggled over this parenting misconception.

 _And it was fun getting to know her. I'm so sad that Auntie Norah, her favorite caretaker, had to leave the orphanage. And to think that Mistress Grimley was worse than the last headmistress._

But most importantly, Anna learned that there was more to Leeza than meets the eye. Life at the orphanage shaped the girl into a tough cookie, assertive and capable of fending for herself when the need arose.

Anna didn't know what it was like to be a mother, but she already loved Leeza. The only problem left was to think up of how to tell Elsa that she adopted Leeza to save her from the cruel orphanage life.

 _But how do I break to Elsa the news? Other than striding into her room, all casual, and saying, 'Hey, Elsa, guess what? I just adopted a girl,' that is? There will be complications._ And Anna rested her chin on her palms and looked very heartbroken indeed.

"Hey, Mom." Leeza tugged on Anna's shirt sleeve, causing her to look up. "I wanna go see where you live. You live in a castle, right?"

"Ye-e-es," Anna said, nodding slowly.

"It's my home now, right?"

"Yes, but you wanna go _now?_ Like _now_ now?"

"Of course, is there a problem?" Leeza persisted. "Besides, I can't wait to see Queen Elsa, since she's now technically my aunt and she's the same person who rescued me before, even though I didn't know she was queen at that time."

"Oh, yes yes yes," Anna said hurriedly, standing up. Because she had an idea just then.

"Listen, Leeza," Anna said, "I'll sneak you into the castle. Then, so that Elsa will be more prepared for your arrival, I'll tell her..."

"Tell me what, Anna?" a voice said behind her.

The silhouette of the ice queen loomed over Anna as she froze mid-sentence. The word _Busted!_ played in her mind over and over again.

"Hey, Elsa," Anna said innocently. "How are you today?"

"Huh? Leeza? Is that really you?" Elsa said when she saw the confused little girl. She then continued, "Yes, Anna? Please, do tell me, what is going on, and how does Leeza come into this?"

Anna laughed shakily, as was her usual quirk when trying to get around some sort of trouble. "I just...now, Elsa, please promise me that you won't get mad."

" _What_ did you do this time, Anna?" Elsa rolled her eyes. "I'll be hanged if you decided to adopt a girl today-"

"But that's exactly what I wanted to tell you!" Anna burst out.

"WHAT?!"

"What is this?" Leeza demanded, standing upright. She looked at Elsa, lips quivering. "D-does that neither of you can keep?" She hid her face into her knees. "I knew this was too good to be true..."

"What? No, dear!" Elsa exclaimed. "It just that Anna didn't tell me beforehand that she wanted to be a foster mother."

"Yea, but I had no choice!" Anna argued in defense. "Leeza was getting horribly beaten by the headmistress; I saw it myself! Just think, she had to endure this every day." Anna hung her head. "It was the only way I could save her."

"I know," Elsa whispered. She leaned over into Anna's ear. "Don't worry, I promise she won't go back. But...can we talk about this after dinner, that is? It's why I came out in the first place anyways, to find you."

* * *

After the two sisters dined with Leeza, who didn't eat much despite having never eaten such food even a quarter as luxurious as this, and after Leeza was put to bed in a separate guest room, Elsa called Anna over.

"We need to find this Leeza a set of parents who will love her and look after her," Elsa urged.

"Yeah, but why can't _I?"_ Anna argued. "I mean, sure I've got princess duties, and I don't have experience yet, and I'm still a little young. But- but-"

"I think you just answered your own question," Elsa stated firmly. "You could be the greatest older surrogate sister in the world to her, but that's as far as you'll get: being an older sister. She needs mature adults – one father and one mother – who will provide what only parents can provide. Discipline. Maturity. Good education and skills for life."

"But I-"

"And ask yourself this: are you _ready_ to be a mother and give up your youth for another decade for her sake?" Elsa said gently.

"I..." Anna was dumbstruck. Now that she thought of it, the idea seemed very out of place in her life. She loved Leeza for being Leeza, but maybe not as a _surrogate daughter._ And the child did have attitude issues. What if a stricter soul than herself needed motherhood experience to keep this bundle of attitude in check?

"You're right," Anna mumbled. "Of course I'm not ready to be a mother yet. I have my own life to live. I have to help run a kingdom. I have you and other friends to put first. And I'm still waiting for Kristoff to propose; I would like to have _his_ children should we ever marry one day." Anna suddenly felt sick to the stomach.

 _Should I have left Leeza alone in the first place, rather than adopt her, only for her world and hopes to come crashing down inevitably?_

"Don't worry," Elsa assured her, "We'll find a couple who will adopt her."

But Anna excused herself and ran upstairs to see whether Leeza was fast asleep yet. That way, if she wasn't, Anna would break down the adoption decision – as gently as she could – then apologize to Leeza for all she was worth.

Anna knocked on the door and softly turned the handle. She was mildly surprised to see Greta by Leeza's bedside, stroking the brunette girl's hair while humming something to the gently snoring girl.

"Greta?" Anna said this more in amazement than in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The humming stopped.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness," Greta gasped, making to get up.

"No, no, no!" Anna ushered her back down. "I just...I didn't know you were so fond of Leeza!"

"Truth be told, dearie, I am extremely fond of children. Leeza was crying when I found her here! But I managed to calm her." And to Anna's surprise, tears welled up in Greta's eyes. "Leeza's outgoing. Defensive. Rambunctious, even _._ Just like my Hilde is – or was, rather..."

"Why, what's wrong? What happened to this Hilde?" Anna asked. But when Greta's tears threatened to spill, she decided to stop pressing her on that matter.

"Tell me, Greta, do you have a husband?"

" _Ja, ja,_ he is the first footman in the castle." Greta blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

"And would you care for and dedicate your life for Leeza if you could?"

" _Du lieber Himmel,_ child, what are talking about?"

"Answer the question, Greta!"

"I love her already. In fact, I'm so, so sorry I let her down earlier. I thought I was doing what was best for her."

"That's it! _That's it!_ " Anna's eyes regained her cheery glow, and she lightly shook Greta by the shoulders. "Greta, you'll make a great mother!"

* * *

"So you're sure you have collected all your provisions?" Elsa asked the small family for the umpteenth time, their carpet bags on the floor besides them.

"Yes, yes! Thank you, Your Majesty," Greta said, not ceasing to beam all day. "We cannot thank you enough for letting Leeza into my and my husband's lives!"

" _And_ for donating to the orphanage!" Leeza added. "Some of my friends live there, too, you know."

"Elsa nodded. "Don't worry, I promise that conditions will improve there. _And_ Miss Grimley is on probation."

It wasn't difficult for Elsa to find Leeza's old orphanage and then register the paperwork transferring the parental rights to Greta and her husband Hubert Kaufmann. The hard part was telling Leeza that real potential parents wanted to adopt her, while Anna could only do it out of pity. Naturally, it made Leeza sad to not be a part of the royal family, but after getting to know the Kaufmanns better, she didn't have any more regrets.

"Now, I know you're retiring back to your home country for a while to spend time at home and with Leeza, but are you guys planning to come back?" Anna asked curiously.

"Soon, we hope," Hubert replied, wrapping an arm around his wife's. "I am, after all, half German, and my wife is full German. We have a home in Germany, and we'd like to settle in and give Leeza a taste of a functional family life." He put another hand on Leeza, who was now well so well-dressed and groomed, not to mention irresistibly cute with her pigtails, that no one would have thought that she was the closest to a beggar girl last month. "How would you like that, my dear?"

Leeza, who learned to hold in her tears all her life under any circumstance, simply nodded, albeit with shining, teary eyes.

"Yes, I would," she piped. She looked at Anna. "And Anna-" here she threw herself at Anna, "-don't feel guilty that you adopted me. If you didn't, I wouldn't have found the family I needed."

 _Sniff._

 _Sniff._

"Awww..." Anna returned the warm, tender child's embrace while wiping the sop from her own nose. "Don't worry. I'll never be guilty. Goodbye, Leeza."

"Goodbye...Momma."

Anna didn't stop waving and shouting her goodbyes to the Kaufmanns until their coach rode out of sight.

"It's okay," Elsa assured her little sis, gently waving them off. "They won't be gone forever. You'll see Leeza again, and who knows? She could get a job and work with her parents. It's all on me."

"I guess," replied Anna in a choked voice.

"Why are you crying so hard, then?"

"I'm not crying!" Anna cried, embarrassed, while trying to turn her face from a playfully prying Elsa. "Ever since Greta moved away, the substitute under cook is cutting up onions for that dumb onion soup that I really hate. IT'S THE ONIONS, I TELL YOU!"

At least, that's what Anna claimed whenever someone caught her in tears for the rest of the day.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **K**


	16. Anna-Mazing Holiday

Anna-Mazing Holiday

 _Because Elsa deserved one._

The white-bearded man landed on some burning coal on the bottom of the hearth, but it neither burned nor singed him since was too well-prepared for chimney hopping. He leapt out of the hearth and into the room, lightly and expertly, so that he wouldn't be heard. He looked around the room.

 _Now where is that princess Anna? Ah, there she is. Rimsky Korsakoff! Is she upset?_

True to his observations, the princess Anna was curled on a cushiony ledge next to the window. She didn't move, but he heard sniffles coming from her side.

"Are you crying?" he whispered hoarsely. He made it a rule to keep himself hidden from all eyes, but since he wanted to know what caused the princess to cry, he made this chance an exception.

The princess slowly lifted her head up and turned her tear-stained face towards the bearded old man. She didn't even look surprised at the sight of him.

"Who are you?" she asked simply.

"Who am _I_?" he roared. "Do you not know me? I am the one, the only, Spirit of Christmas! Some may know me as Kris Kringle, or the Guardian of Wonder, or simply North." He chuckled. "But the kiddies know me as Santa Claus."

"Oh. Hi," Anna said dully. "Welcome to my place. Though you won't find much Christmas cheer here, if you want to know."

"But what _are_ you crying about, princess?" the old man asked, still surprised over how she didn't react in any way over the sight of him – he was _the_ Santa _,_ for goodness' sakes.

"It's not really my problem," Anna said, rubbing her head against the pillow in a desperate attempt to attain some cushiony comfort. "It's my sister, Elsa."

"Ahh, yes, the Queen of Arendelle." North nodded while making himself comfortable on a rocking chair and took out his pipe from his pocket. "Do explain."

"Yea, well, see," Anna explained, "we haven't had a Christmas in years. Years ago, when my sister accidentally hurt me with her ice powers, the parents at that time were so concentrated on hiding her from the world that, well, Christmas slowly ebbed away, at least in the castle. I'm just happy, at least, that the village outside still upheld the tradition all those years." She smiled sadly and wiped a tear away. "Now that my sister and I are reunited, thank goodness, for weeks I was planning to re-introduce Christmas to her again. To hang garlands to holly with her. Go Christmas shopping. Caroling. Everything, only together. Elsa promised to be back from her diplomatic trip, but she got back just today, so she was exhausted. But we got into such a big fight that we postponed the Christmas activities…" Anna sighed.

 _No Christmas?_ North thought. _So_ _that's_ _why I didn't receive any wish lists from the girls all those years! And now she's going to give up? NO, I_ must _do something!_

"I considered putting up some last-minute decorations with the servants," Anna continued, "but it's too late now. Elsa's gone to sleep, so...Merry Christmas, I guess," she concluded gloomily and buried her head into her pillow. "I couldn't even find her a decent present," she sobbed.

Santa nearly spluttered.

"Do you even know what my job is?" Santa said, bemused.

"Oh, I forgot. What do you do again" Anna said.

North heartily chuckled. "I give out presents, remember?"

"Oh. Well, when my memories of Elsa's power were wiped, Christmas must've flown out the hatch, too."

"So, the question is," Santa said as he leaned down to Anna, "what _do_ you want for Christmas?"

Anna perked up a little. "Oh! Ok!" she said awkwardly. "Not that I wanna bother you with my problems what with you being so busy this night but…" she finished breathlessly. She took another breath. " But if you don't mind, the thing is...I wish that the entire castle would be prepared to greet Christmas." She sighed again. "I wanted to decorate with Elsa, but, you know…" She made to bury her head into her pillow, but the Santa laid a large mitten-clad hand on her shoulder.

"Leave it all to me," North said. "For now, you need your rest." North blew some golden sand into Anna's puffy eyes, and her eyes sagged with such sleepiness that she almost immediately drifted off into a refreshing sleep that made her forget all her worries for this night.

* * *

Seven o'clock in the morning. Elsa woke up with a sagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She felt guilty about the fight she had with Anna. Elsa was so tired yesterday when she returned, true, but it wasn't Anna's fault that she wanted to spend some last-minute sisterly-bonding time for Christmas and decorate the castle a little...right? Anna just wanted a little fun. And she, Elsa, responded by snapping at her little sister by saying that she didn't believe in this unnecessary Christmas baloney. Decorating, caroling, giving gifts – why was it so important?

But that didn't matter. Elsa resolved to apologize to her sister as soon as possible for her outburst yesterday.

 _And although I frankly don't understand this gift-giving business, I think I'll make up for it by buying something for Anna and baking whatever she wants. Today, I want her to have a good Christmas. I should've ordered the servants to prepare everything yesterday._

And, having donned her bathrobe over her nightgown, Elsa turned the knob of her bedroom door.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

A series of bangs erupted from every side, followed by Christmas-colored confetti and streamers which showered Elsa. Anna and a few apprehensive servants with party poppers and party horns in hand surrounded the snow queen.

The hullabaloo startled Elsa so that she uttered a small scream and backed against the wall.

"Hey, thank your stars that I haven't released an ice storm on you," Elsa said, trying to catch her breath. Luckily she was able to suppress the surge of icy coldness in her hands that crept up as a reflex. "What is this, anyways?"

After glancing around the hall, though, Elsa had to reiterate her question. "What _is_ this?"

Leaves of holly and garlands hung decorated the hall and hung around the staircase. The floor was scrubbed; a new carpet had been set. Some extra confetti sprinkled the top as a touch of décor. True to her observations, Elsa saw a new atmosphere within the castle.

"Um, a Merry Christmas?" Anna said uncertainly. "I hope you like!"

"B-but how did you- set everything up so quickly-"

"But do you _like_ it?" Anna repeated eagerly.

"Aww, Anna..." Elsa said, smiling tenderly. Anna sounded so eager, so desperate for Elsa to like the decorations and the Christmas cheer that she brought along! "Of course! It's all lovely."

"Then come on! There's more where that came from!" Anna instantly grabbed Elsa's hand.

"Whoa! Anna, I'm in my nightclothes! Be more considerate-"

"Oh, come on!" Anna waved off the protest as she lead her older sister downstairs. "And you guys are dismissed!" Anna called over her shoulder to the servants. "Go home and spend time with your families! It's Christmas!"

Elsa didn't know what amazed her more: how different the castle looked with its Christmassy atmosphere, or the dramatic change to the castle _all in one night._ How did Anna even do it, Elsa kept wondering. But Anna was so enthusiastic bounding around and showing her all the perks and beauty of the castle that Elsa couldn't squeeze a proper answer out of her.

"See? See?!" Anna announced proudly as each chef filed out of royal kitchen, with round brass plates filled with tasteful delicacies, towards the dining hall.

"If this was an all-nighter you pulled, it's a wonder you didn't tire the poor servants out," Elsa replied sarcastically.

"Don't worry, we got it settled," was Anna's vague reply. Who "we" was, she didn't explain.

Anna dragged Elsa around so many more equally decorated rooms that Elsa lost count.  
 _This sure makes me wish for the first time that the castle wasn't so huge! It's a lucky thing Anna knows her way around._

But just when Elsa said about to fuss over visiting the thousandth needlessly decorated spare room that nobody ever used, Anna finally cried, "I saved the last one for the best!" and opened the door to the Great Hall, where a fifteen-foot-tall Christmas tree, drooping heavily with baubles and streamers, stood in a corner towered above many presents that piled up and protruded from underneath the bottom branches. Needless to say, this room was definitely overabundant with the most garlands and streamers since the room was so big.

Elsa drew in a long gasp. "Anna..." she breathed. "That is... _so_ much you've done for me..."

Anna bounded back from the tree to Elsa with a gift. "Here, open this one! It's from me!" She shoved the gift into Elsa's hands. "I really hope you- Elsie, what's wrong?" For Elsa was crying – or laughing. Or maybe both.

"I just – don't know what to say," Elsa said finally, wiping at her eyes. "I don't even know how to feel! I just wanna laugh and cry all at the same time, because I can't believe what I missed after all those years. I mean, I forgot how much fun it was! But Anna, tell me finally, _how_ on earth did you find the time to prepare all...this?" Elsa vaguely gestured at the adorned Hall.

Anna winked. "Let's just say that the expert in Christmas helped me out."

The girls both received so many presents from foreign allied countries and many more gifts from loyal villagers that both girls decided to open only thirty presents for today. Naturally, they opened those from their most well-known acquaintances. For starters, Elsa and Anna each got hand-made colorfully stained glass lamps from Kristoff.

"Eek!" Anna squealed when she opened it. "I didn't know Kristoff could also make glass ornaments!" She hugged the petit lamp to her chest and kissed it repeatedly. "I love Kristoff sooo much for this gift. Not like I didn't love him like before, but you know what I mean..."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Anna, hon," Elsa said. She read the small letter from Kristoff. "' _To you're majesties, much luve from Kristoff.'_ Eesh, No offense, but how literate is he, anyways?" Elsa looked over at Anna, who made flirtatious face at the lamp and didn't seem to hear a word she said.

Next they each got a heart-shaped rock from Olaf. " _To Els n Ana, frm Oluf. Happy Brtday!"_ was messily scrawled in a tiny slip on each package.

"Double eesh!" Elsa said. "He writes like a troll. I'm surprised he even knows how to write! That aside, bless Olaf's fuzzy heart!"

The King, Queen and their daughter Rapunzel of Corona gave the girls a cartload of unique herbs that were guaranteed to heal many certain types of ills, including the rarest ones. ("How did they get such a pendant for anything with such healing properties?" Elsa wondered aloud).

Kristoff's family, which were his adopted family of trolls, sent the girls both multi-colored jewel necklaces and bracelets.

"How did they find the jewels for them?" Anna thought.

Anna saved her own gift for last. She had for Elsa a delicate transparent glass snowflake necklace.

"I tried to find a gift for you the other day, but it had to be super-good," Anna said. "I looked and looked, but I could not find anything, eh, your type. Then I found this at the glassware store..."

But Elsa gave Anna another hug and smiled knowingly. "Anna, it's the perfect gift."

Half an hour later, the unwrapped gifts piled in one corner and glitzy wrapping paper crinkled and lain all over the floor, the two sisters sat resting in content on a couch next to the fire. Their glasses of eggnog and chocolates were on the tables next to them. The sisters talked and bantered with one another.

 _Though I still feel sorry that I didn't get Anna a present,_ Elsa thought.

Then it struck her.

"I have a present for you too," Elsa said with a sly grin on her face. In front of Anna, she waved one hand slightly; a single snowflake with a thin string, similar to Anna's, formed in mid-air and alighted in her palm.

Anna gasped, lightly clapping her hands to the magic. "For me-?"

Yes, Anna." And Elsa bent forward and tied the necklace around Anna's neck. "But that's not all," she added, touching Anna's and her own necklace. "I've enchanted both snowflakes so that no matter where we are in the world, we will know that we are okay. As long as the snowflake is pure white, it means that the wearer is well. If the wearer is in distress or any sort of pain, it turns blue. And lastly, should we ever get lost, it will glow towards the direction we are in."

"Thank you, Elsa!" Anna cried, clutching the snowflake in one hand. Then she paused. "Uh, Elsa, I know you can create snow and all that, but how did you know how to _enchant_ things?"

Elsa shrugged.

"You _really_ need Merlin as your trainer now," Anna continued twirling in glee. "Maybe he'll teach you more magic. And I heard that he's pretty cool."

"Maybe."

Elsa felt satisfied enough to sit with her sister in front of the fire for the next hour, but this wasn't exactly what Anna had in mind. Barely five minutes passed when suddenly, Anna awoke from a snooze with a jerk and cried out, "Ohmygosh! I almost forgot! What time is it?"

"A quarter to nine...why?"

* * *

"Oh, so that was the reason for all the fuss," Elsa whispered when she and Anna sat behind the church pews half an hour later, since Anna barely explained her motives before then. Since they were fifteen minutes late, and they didn't want to interrupt the service with their presence, Elsa and Anna donned some decent village clothes.

"Yup," Anna said happily while smiling and passing a wave to Kristoff in the front aisle. "Isn't the choir beautiful?"

"Yes," Elsa nodded.

"Do you remember when we used to go to church when we were really little?"

"Yup."

"Then after the, um, accident, only I went with my parents to church. Say, uh, I don't mean to be personal, but did you ever, maybe, learn about religion, even as a recluse?"

"I did have religion studies. Once in two years Dad would ask a pastor to perform a small service in my room...but what he mostly did was pray and try to 'cast out' the demons that gave me those powers. Obviously, that plan didn't work, because my ice powers only grew stronger."

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"Do you..." Anna gulped because, as she was still getting to know Elsa, she was still a little shy asking Elsa personal questions, "...believe in God?"

"Oh! Well..." Elsa shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean, I prayed really hard to whatever god was out there many times to help me get rid of my powers, but nothing helped. I admit, at times I felt like I was praying to a wall. So no, maybe I don't believe in a God."

Anna gasped. "But if you don't believe in God, then you'll go to Hell!"

"Says who?" Elsa countered cynically.

"The pastor," said Anna miserably, who at the same time wondered if snow queens like Elsa were by any chance immortal so they don't die and go to Hell.

"Whatever. Maybe a God does exist, and maybe not."

"But he _does_ exist!" Anna whispered. "You just can't see him. He made the world. He made the snow and the flowers and _you._ And the reason I brought you here was when you earlier questioned why we celebrated Christmas. Well," Anna said, "it's because you asked me the reason we celebrate Christmas: because we celebrate the birth of Jesus."

"And why's that so important?" Elsa countered cynically.

"To, um…save mankind from sin?" Anna continued slowly, trying to explain the best she could.

"What does saving have to do with all this?!"

"Because there's a good afterlife, and if we're good, I believe we go up…there?" Anna pointed to the roof with a half-sheepish smile. She wasn't used to explaining this stuff.

"Well, all right," said Elsa awkwardly, who was not used to delving into the topic of her religion and beliefs. She just…never really reflected her beliefs much. "Whatever you say. Now I get it why Christmas is celebrated, at least. I thought it had _no_ meaning before."

"But it does!"

"Well, if you say so."

The angelic voices of the choir, the rejoicing voice of the minister, the Christmassy atmosphere and smell of the pine boughs hanging across the columns and Anna sitting at her side and endlessly beaming…whatever it was (Anna, religious as she was, may have insisted that it was the spirit of the Lord), Elsa felt absolute peace settle upon her soul today.

 _Gotta admit, whatever we celebrate Christmas for – love, family, or religion, granted that you're into that – it feels so miraculous today._

Santa was standing on the highest rooftop of the building next to a big furry yeti with beady eyes. He was looking through the church window at the two happy princesses, for whom Christmas became something with meaning again.

"Can you believe it?" he chuckled wearily, elbowing his helper yeti. "Doesn't Anna just the kindliest soul?"

The yeti responded by splaying his hands up in an I-don't-know-or-care gesture, then yawning hugely. It had been a weary night, and he was looking forward to some mulled wine and hanging out with all his other yeti friends back at his boss's workshop.

"Shall we call it a day and toast to Christmas with, I don't know, a little vodka?"

The yeti groaned in impatience. _Yes, already! And for the information, it better be mulled wine._

"Merry Christmas!" Santa roared as he and his dead-tired yeti collapsed into the sleigh and the reindeer-driven sleigh pulled off into the sky. "And to all-" here he had to chuckle at his small pun, "-Anna-mazing holiday!"

* * *

 ***Shrugs* M'kay, maybe this chapter was a little cliché, but I found this unedited Christmas story a year ago, and I thought to update since I know I didn't in a long while. And in time for Christmas, too!**

 **So I researched a bit and deciphered that the Norweigans' main religion is Evangelical Lutheran Christianity. Disclaimer: since I am NOT an Evangelical Lutheran myself, please don't take too seriously my interpretation of their religion here, like the you're-automatically-going-to-Hell-if-you-aren't-a-believer belief. I just wanted to write what I GUESS Norweigan evangelicals could have believed at that time period, so please, I hope you understand. Thank you, and MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! xD**


	17. Kristoff

Kristoff

 _The one about his side of the story._

* * *

Kris Bjorgman held the torch against the pitch dark as he peered around him. His reindeer Laila perked up her ears, for she too heard the wolf howls from the tree-sparse woods.

"Slowly, Laila," he whispered and gently flicked the reins for her to quietly proceed. He had a long day selling ice, and he knew that his only son was awaiting him at home. Wolf howls he heard occasionally through the lone road leading back home, but now they sounded more eerily close this evening.

The howling became more distinct, and suddenly, Laila stopped in her tracks, for full terror gripped her. There, ahead of them, although they didn't see clearly, Kris and the reindeer heard the inevitable sound of wolves growling and prowling their way forth not ten feet away from them. More howling came from behind.

Kris froze too. Then the adrenaline kicked in. "Kyah!" he shouted to Laila, striking her with the reins. The sudden flicks made Laila dash through their blocked pathway so rapidly that she bowled over some of the wolves in her path. Laila ran at top speed, but the wolves' panting behind them were still dangerously close. The hunt was on.

Then as quickly as the deathly pattering of wolf feet behind them started, it stopped. At the same time, the sleigh bumped onto a thin layer of ice, making the sleigh skid a little.

Kris didn't know why the wolves stopped, but he was sure he could release the long-bated breath that he'd been holding in.

"We did it, Laila!" he said breathlessly. He spoke too early. When they slowed down, the thin sheet of ice cracked in half under the sleigh rungs, and it plunged down into the water beneath.

As the sleigh sank, threatening to pull the attached Laila in too, Kris thought quickly and cut the harness cords off her. "Help – help – please!"

Laila tried to reach out her antlers towards Kris, but each time the ice crumbled under her weight and she was forced to back off from the water. Now Kris was surrounded by ten feet of water from each side, and since there was no ground to hold him up underneath, poor Laila watched helplessly from the shore.

Kris flailed and shouted for help, since he couldn't swim, but when the freezing water and hypothermia overwhelmed him, he stopped splashing about and gasped out his last words to Laila.

"Find...Kristoff...tell him...I love him..." And his head sank under.

Laila frantically paced back and forth on the edge of the ice as though hoping against hope that he could find a way to break surface. But after she still didn't rise, she knew she needed to alert somebody, anybody, who knew Kris; there might still be a slight chance that she could still save him. Wait – aha! She knew Kris's fellow ice-harvesters.

She galloped across the windy roads of the steep mountain. Along the way, Kris's fellow ice harvesters who were cutting ice blocks identified the frantic Laila stumbling over to them with wild fear in her eyes. Questions arose from all sides while other men ran over to calm Laila. All feared the worst.

"Laila! What are you doing here? Where's Kris?" They all asked. When Laila repeatedly bucked her head towards the lake, Kris's friends wasted no time running after her.

"Kris! Kris!" everyone shouted when Laila at last led them to the gaping hole in the lake. After a few failed attempts at fishing Kris out of the water with ropes, everyone became quiet and took off their caps to the side of the lake. Laila looked out to the lake and gave out a long, despairing moan for her beloved owner.

"May he rest in peace," said Jon.

"We're so sorry, Kris," Kjetil said, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry your son will have to endure this. His only family member – dead!" Simen cried, who was a close friend of Kris's.

* * *

Eventually Kris's fellow workers returned to the Bjorgman lodge to break down the unsettling news. Brit, the village lady who looked after Kristoff during the long hours that Kris was away, was particularly distressed, for Kris was kind and he paid her generously for her work. She decided to be the one the break the news to his only son, but she barely had the heart to explain past, "Your father isn't coming home tonight." After all the persistent questions from Kristoff such as, "When's he coming back?" and "Whaddya mean he's not coming back?" and "Where is he now?", Kristoff got the gist that something really, really serious happened to his father, and he mourned with Brit for three long days.

Since no one could pay the rent for the Bjorgman family house anymore, Brit was laid off, Laila and the house were sold, and Kristoff ended up in an orphanage far away from his hometown.

Orphanages were, needless to say, not pleasant refuges for children. Lucky for Kristoff, it was customary in the Bjorgman family to never lose spirit even in the most destitute of times. Whenever a day was extra bad or he was sent off to bed without supper, he sneaked out of the orphanage late at night to explore the Norwegian wilderness around him, to take his mind off the hunger pangs. Bonus if the northern lights choose this night to present their lively dances in clear sky.

One day, Kristoff was so absorbed in following one stream of auroras over a snowy mountain that he accidentally bumped into some ice harvesters there. And that's when his life changed.

 _Wow…is that what my dad's been doing all along? Cutting the ice pieces into such perfect cubes, and so rapidly, too?_ Kristoff thought as he observed them closely. Right then and there, he decided to mimic the ice-cutters in their interesting work.

"Oh, hullo, there," Kristoff said when he saw a baby calf cautiously approach him from a herd of grown reindeer. A little sled was attached to him. "Do you mind if I, erm, borrow your sled?"

No, the little calf didn't object. But it was when Kristoff offered him a carrot that both became more interested in each other.

"Where are your parents, little reindeer?"

The calf bowed his head sorrowfully.

"Oh, you've got none? I'm so sorry, little reindeer. My parents are dead, too. Mum died when I was born, and dad, well, it was his time to become a northern light to watch over me, so it's not all bad. Hey, wanna help me cut ice?"

Sven licked him in the face in response, and since then, both orphans found an intimate friend in one another. And Sven, as Kristoff decided to call him, pitched in to help Kristoff by supportively nudging or licking him when he made many clumsy events to pile a block of ice for himself onto the sleigh.

* * *

"…and since then, I never looked back. I ditched the orphanage, got adopted by my present-day family, and earned my living with my first and only job…and la di dee, la di daa, you know the rest. The. End," Kristoff concluded to Anna in a bored, monotone voice so his background wouldn't sound so sob story-ish. The couple were sitting outside a restaurant on a bright summery day, and Anna listened attentively to the story of his childhood life which he used to be reluctant to share…until Anna politely asked him about it.

"I'm so sorry, Kristoff," Anna said quietly. "I didn't know." _After all, I was only fifteen when my parents died. Fifteen, but at least I kept them for a good portion of my childhood._

And when the date ended and Kristoff gave Anna a hug, she kept clinging to him, refusing to let go. She sobbed into his robust shoulder – silently, so he wouldn't know. But one look at Anna's shaking figure, and Kristoff knew.

"Anna? Anna!" Kristoff shook her shoulder with one hand. "Hello-o-o, tell me, was it that story that got you? C'mon Anna, it isn't all bad…"

But Anna didn't answer him.

"Answer, Anna. W-what do you want? Name it! Another date? Another bouquet? A _kiss_?! Anna!" He turned to Sven in desperation. "Why the heck are girls so emotional?"

Sven grunted and displayed a look of cluelessness. Anna only shook her head into Kristoff's shoulder. Where sad stories were concerned, she actually had low emotional tolerance for those, especially where her potential future husband was involved. But she wouldn't be caught dead telling him how much this affected her.

Kristoff Bjorgman simply had too much pride.

 **For the first time in forever (Yeah, pardon the pun), I updated soon after updating the last chapter. : )**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	18. Psychology Slip-up

Psychology Slip-up

 _Sometimes, Elsa still had a little trouble controlling her powers._

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Elsa groaned, not for the last time, as she trod her way over the brambles towards Anna.

Her jittery sister only answered by skittering faster across the forest path. "Trust me, it's gonna work!"

"The day Anna's anything works is the day Olaf learns to read and Sven to speak," Elsa grumbled to herself.

"Okay, okay…here we are!" Anna said, catching her breath while Elsa caught up behind her. They arrived at a moonlit meadow. Stones encircled a small spot, and center had some emblem carved into the ground.

"That's it?" Elsa said blankly.

"Yep!"

"This better not be another magic spell or incantation, Anna!"

"Yes, but…" Anna whipped out a book. "I told you, it's _fail safe._ This book's from the library. Our library. Not from the peddler's. You yourself said the library spell books there are very safe."

"From our library, huh?" Elsa said dully. She didn't feel like this was worth all the trouble anyways.

 _I mean, even our parents could never find the "cure" for what Anna claims she just found._

Anna laid her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Please, Elsa," she said seriously. "I'm not trying to egg you on or anything. I'm doing this because you are under distress, and I'm trying to help. And it's reversible. Remember what happened two weeks ago?"

Elsa bit her lip. The memory made her cringe.

"You got so angry with the ambassador that you sent ice creeping dangerously near him. Then you panicked so much about that, that you froze the entire room."

"I was angry! And just stressed from overwork!" Elsa said. "If I wasn't so stressed and didn't sleep so little, this wouldn't be an issue…"

"…so, I found a way to suppress your powers without effort," Anna finished firmly. "Luckily, I found a way to mix psychology and magic into this."

"What does psychology have to do with this," Elsa mused, who never scratched the surface of this subject, since psychology was relatively new in Arendelle. But Anna simply took her hand and led her into the center of the circle. "Quickly, the moon's gonna come out now. And as it does, I'm gonna read this incantation here. You-" she pointed to Elsa, "just close your eyes and _believe_ the spell will work."

"Oh, so this is part of psychology or whatchamacallit." But with a sigh of resignation, Elsa stepped into the center, swept her dress in, closed her eyes and kept her thumbs and forefingers interlocked as though in meditation.

"Here comes the moon!" Anna announced. "You ready?"

"Sure, sure…"

Anna read from a page,

 _Damen lethodar nal moipar tasarak…_

 _This is stupid. I need to be sleeping. I need to get a good rest so I can be less stressed tomorrow,_ Elsa thought as Anna continued. She squinted at the moon that peeped out from beneath the colds. _Wow, the moon's unusually bright tonight. I always liked the moon. In my days of total isolation, I remember I liked to look up at the moon like a friend. It's really, really nice out today. It's so relaxing. Hello again, old friend. I can stare at you forever._

Elsa's tense hands unclenched themselves, and the grass surrounding her feet thawed as Elsa lost herself to the bright, hypnotic light in the sky…

"Elsa." A set of fingers snapped in face Elsa's face. She started and stepped back. "Huh?! Anna? Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there…"

Anna chuckled gently. "Elsa, you were spaced out for five minutes! I called your name and you didn't – Els, what's wrong?" For Elsa was shuddering violently.

"Something is so wrong," Elsa gasped. She dropped to the ground and rubbed at her arms which were only lightly concealed by her translucent sleeves. "A-n-n-na, i-if that- that was-s-s your doi-i-ing…s-so help me..."

"Oh dear, oh dear!" Anna murmured with panic and wrapped an arm around Elsa. "Look at you, you're shivering. You cold?" Then a thought struck Anna so hard that she gave a long gasp.

"ELSA!"

"What?!"

"That's it – cold! You're just feeling cold! That's what wrong with you."

"Wait, really?" Elsa said dully, for she never knew for her life what it meant to be cold, nor did it mean anything to her. All she knew was that for other normal people, cold meant an averseness to intensely low temperatures. But now, the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

 _Huh. I'm cold._

"Aww, poor Elsa. Here." Anna lost no time in taking off her own warm coat and cape and blanketing Elsa up in it. She chuckled, "That gave me a scare!"

Elsa sighed in relief, for she felt somewhat less cold in her wrappings now. "Wow. So that's why all you people make such a fuss about the cold weather."

Anna suddenly cried out, "Wait – the spell! If you feel cold, then it worked!"

"All right, then." And as Elsa stumbled to her feet (Her legs still felt cold as she didn't wear something that covered her legs underneath the dress.), she took a deep breath, opened her fists, and waited for the icy magic to rush forth. No result. No familiar rush of ice flooding her veins, no _whoosh_ …nothing.

"Well, I'll be…" Elsa held her palms up with awe, "a monkey's uncle," she said stupidly.

Anna groaned, both from delight and anguish. "So mum and dad really _could_ have helped you," she said. "If they knew how, that is."

Elsa tried, over and over again, swirling her hands in the air, to make sure no more magic could be procured. "But when can I get my powers back?"

Anna teetered on the spot while thinking of a way to word this. "Anytime you want. But here's the bad news, you see, Elsa: if I tell you how to reverse the spell, it'll never work again."

Elsa raised her eyebrows. "And why not, Anna?"

"If I tell you, that's how the spell will break."

The two sisters continued hand-in-hand down to Arendelle and back home to get their rest. Elsa was still wrapped up in Anna's robes, and every so often with a ruminating expression she'd stick out her hand into the frosty air and try to hold it as long as she could before the cold overcame her and she had to tuck it back in. Anna, truth be told, was amused at Elsa's experimenting.

"...wait a sec, you filthy scoundrel – that money is counterfeit, you swindler, you!"

Anna and Elsa, cloaked in the shadows of the village rooftops, stopped short. They recognized the voice.

Kristoff had a cart-peddler by the scruff, and his fist was clenched and about ready to swing a punch at him. "And now they call _me_ a dishonest man, all because I carry counterfeit money made by _you_ , you…" And Kristoff divulged into name-calling that the two royal girls had never heard the likes of before.

"Oh, that Bjorg," Anna said and facepalmed when Elsa looked at her inquisitively. "He's that infamous swindler who pays everyone with counterfeit money. Unfortunately, Kristoff is bad at deciphering fakes till it's too late."

"Let me at him," Elsa whispered fiercely. She waved both arms at Bjorg as though to smack him with a little ice, but then remembered just as Anna reminded her. "You can't, remember?"

"Right," Elsa sighed.

"Maybe we'll just let Kristoff to it."

"Yea. Seems like he's got this, anyways."

* * *

Two weeks, and Elsa already noticed a major change in her new lifestyle. According to her diary, these were just six of a few minor adaptations that she had to get used to:

 _1) I always feel cold. I am so cold that I have to wear extra warm undergarments, at least three layers of night robes, and even my warmest fur coat when I go to bed!_

 _2) Frozen coffee is never on the fly anymore. Instead of me freezing my coffee in a dash, I have to ask Greta to put it outside and then I have to wait ten minutes just for it to be reasonably cold._

 _3) Speaking of cold drinks, I don't think my metabolism can stand them anymore. My throat gets sore every time I drink them._

 _4) Before Anna did the spell on me, I could never stand temperatures over 65 Celsius. Hot summers made me feel very uncomfortable, like I was melting (Unlike Olaf, who has his own flurry, so I'll give him credit as a snowman.) After the spell, Anna went to extremes and asked if I could try out a sauna. Well, it was uncomfortable, but I didn't die._

 _5) I can't create snowballs out of thin air and throw them at Anna anymore. Makes me feel low when I, an ex-snow queen, have to scoop up the stuff myself._

 _6) It's a little uncomfortable when I see wrongdoing in the streets and I can't use my powers to save the victims._

Not that Elsa exactly complained. She didn't need to worry about controlling an angry wave of ice at any more delegators during meetings. Nor did she need to remember to thaw an inhabitable cold room before Anna could join her.

But other bigger gripes did occur. For instance, as mentioned in her diary, when Elsa spied petty crimes happening in the streets of Arendelle, she'd instantly wave her arms towards any victim before realizing with a heavy heart that it wouldn't work. It would be dangerous, too, to try to command anyone to stop because thieves turn onto any peasant girl they wanted, since Elsa would be in peasant wear.

Then Elsa's powers, or lack thereof, came to tipping point.

"Your Majesty!" Gerda cried, bursting into Anna's room. "The Tyrfings are back!"

"What? Not again!" Anna half-wailed, shooting out of her seat. The Tyrfings were a tribe and descendant of the Berserker Vikings that lived off the Samso island in the Danish region. They were a small tribe but for a long time they were a petty foe, always wreaking havoc upon Arendelle and neighboring countries so they'd be forced to pay tribute to them to keep them away. Elsa meant to deal with those troublemakers whenever they came storming unto the castle, but because the Tyrfings claimed themselves a proper civilization who deserved better than Elsa's threats of unleashing ice soliders their way, that wasn't easy.

"What do they want from us this time, Gerda?"

Gerda heaved her shoulders. "Heavens if I know! Where's Queen Elsa, anyways? She usually shows them what for with her negotiating skills!"

"Ehhh…about that. Yeah," Anna started nervously, for the truth about Elsa's powers were kept a secret from the rest of the castle. "She's in bed with migraines." She perked up, for she had an idea. "But I can substitute."

"Are you sure?"

"Gerda, I'm the princess. I should know something about diplomacy." And Gerda and the rest of the frantic castle hold could only look out the window, down at the gung-ho Tyrfings as they made a hullabaloo outside the castle walls and prepared their trebuchets towards the castle while Anna calmly headed out to meet them

Two hours later, a dejected Anna counseled with royal court, who viciously inquired what the Tyrfing tribe's answer was in responses to Anna's rather undiplomatic cries of "Oh shut up already, dumb tyrds!" and "What does the king of the Tyrds want, anyways?"

"He says Arendelle is long overdue on its tributes," Anna said with a dejected face. _I suck at diplomacy,_ she thought. " And they want to speak to Elsa."

"Shall I tell Her Majesty-"

But Anna shook her head. "She has migraines." While that was true, the other reason was that if she told Elsa, she'd want her powers back in order to shoo away the Tyrfings, and that would be an opportunity wasted when Elsa will this time remain with her unwanted powers forever. Anna was sure she could solve the problem herself, anyways. "I'll go negotiate with those Tyrfings myself."

Anna tried. She comforted herself with the thought that at least she deserved credit for trying her hardest. She tried to appease the Tyrfings by promising to send them resources, but the only thanks she got was the unsatisfied Tyrfing leader, Agnar, threatening to fling a catapult in her face.

"Then what do you want?!" Anna finally shouted at Agnar.

"We want to know where yer sister Elsa is hiding," Agnar said with the craftiest Viking-smirk. "She doesn't threaten us with ice anymore, no?"

"I told you, she is not here," Anna said hotly.

"If she refuses to face me, then I refuse to show my civil side," Agnar said.

Anna didn't realize what this meant at first. Then war-trumpets resounded from all of Arendelle as a cry for battle; a trebuchet struck a castle wall…and then she understood.

King Agnar meant to wage war on Arendelle, because he could. And with no Elsa to keep him at bay…

 _What have I done,_ Anna thought, eyes wide with fear as she hustled her way through screaming servants running hither throughout the Great Hall. _I should've told Elsa…I'm such a dummy-jerk…_

The excruciating pain Elsa was feeling, she couldn't categorize as just a migraine. Her brain felt like it was splitting. Her body felt flashes of hot and cold at the same time. Most of all she felt balls of tensions in her abdomen that unraveled into pain, all the way down to the nervous endings in her fingertips and toes. She was buried underneath layers of blankets and shivered violently. And her mind was racing.

 _What kind of cold did I catch this time?_ Elsa wondered glumly. She was so exhausted that she couldn't even turn over in her covers.

"Els!" Anna stumbled into the room, and as she did, a huge tremor shook the room.

"Huh-" In spite of herself, Elsa groggily perked her head up at Anna. "What was that?" Elsa muttered.

"Arendelle is in distress! The Tyrfings banded together and are now raiding Arendelle!" Anna wailed. "Oh, I'm so sorry for not telling you, sis, I tried to deal with the Tyrfings myself, you have had such a headache-"

"You should've _told_ me!" A furious Elsa tried to rolled out of bed, but she half-stumbled, half-rolled to the ground. "Quickly, get me my powers back."

"But the spell will never work again!" Anna cried tearily. "Look, Elsa, I dispatched the troops to deal with those stupid Berserker breeds."

"Do you even _know_ how strong the Tyrfings are?!"

"You calm yourself first, Els. Please, you're so pale!"

Instead of replying, Elsa tried to move towards the door, but she stumbled and fell again. Anna swooped down to her side.

"No, I can't…I can't…" Elsa gasped between each drag of her body across the floor. "Anna, can't you see? Locking in my powers only makes it worse." She glanced up at a distressed Anna. "Please."

After looking at Elsa sympathetically, Anna sighed. Anna almost expected ice to slid in from the walls from the outburst, but clearly the repressed powers couldn't find an outlet to be released from, and that was what was tearing Elsa apart.

Elsa's powers will always be inherent in her. That much Anna knew now.

"Okay…I tricked you, Elsa."

"Huh?"

"The magic that I used to help you? It wasn't so much magic as a, erm harmless psychological trick to help people with powers to repress them to a certain limit. I made you believe that didn't have powers anymore, and your belief became real."

"You mean my powers didn't go anywhere? But I thought – the moonlight, and …" Before finishing her sentence, some gently flowing ice oozed from underneath her feet and fingertips. The ice, conceived of relief from holding back, spread across the floor and walls, so that Anna slipped on her spot and the room temperature was dropping one degree Celsius every second.

"Thank you, Anna." With a renewed fierceness flashing in her eyes, Elsa swung her ice cape forward and strode out of the room. Several towering icy bodyguards that resembled Marshmallows formed out of thin air and came to her side. "You asked for me, King, Agnar. Well, here I come, you son of a Berserker!"

* * *

Elsa twiddled with her pen, lost in thought at her desk. She made her threat true to the Tyrfings by unleashing her ice soldiers on them. They'd be back, she knew. But in the midst of writing more legislatures that might help her and her allies to deal with them better, she couldn't take her mind off Anna's sneaky psychology trick. The most amazing part? Anna's gimmicks this time didn't backfire or cause another catastrophe.

Well, not a major one, anyhow.

 _But I'm not gonna lie, the migraines that came from suppressing such a crucial part of me was excruciating._ Elsa waved her hand across the desk, and the mental command that she communicated to her powers complied: a snowflake hung shimmering in the air.

"Anna?" Elsa called. Anna, who was sprawled on Elsa's bed and reading through the spell-psychology book that previously "cured" Elsa.

"Hm?"

"What's the name of that spell you put on me, again? Okay, I mean, trick."

"The Placebo Effect." Anna giggled. "Who knew magic could coexist with a little psychology?"

* * *

 **I wish I could update more regularly. Unfortunately, I suck at time-managing, especially when I have ideas for other fanfictions and when I'm caught up with loads of other stuff, and second, I'm running out of inspiration fuel for Frozen…If I don't come up with any more good ideas, I think I'll just neatly conclude Elsa and Anna's adventures at the twentieth chapter, since I feel that twenty long-ish chapters cover lots of ground about the two adorkable sisters. ^_^**

 **So what do you think? Reviews welcome!**

 **KoolKat**


	19. The Question

The Question

 _Finally._

* * *

Elsa didn't expect anything more surprising when Anna aimlessly wandered into the parlor room after her last date with Kristoff. The couple was having more of them lately, and Anna, Elsa noticed, changed. Besides the custom bump-into-poles-from-love scenarios, Anna tended to sit in her room without telling anyone and stare out of the window in serious ruminations. Sure, Anna would _never_ lock Elsa out, and when asked, she would recall the blissful events in great detail to her sister before phasing out deep into her romantic world.

But that's the thing. Anna has changed. Instead of nagging Elsa to play with her and build a snowman or some diddly doo, or pouring out to Elsa all kinds of funny stories over sandwiches, Anna wasn't around the castle as nearly as often, her optimistic presence subconsciously keeping Elsa's spirits up while she worked at her queenly duties.

And Elsa knew why:

Kristoff.

So when Anna entered the parlor, eyes extra-glossed over collapsed into a couch and sighed a lovesick sigh, Elsa just had to intervene.

"Another date?"

"Hmmm-hmmmmmmm…" Anna trailed off, humming some love song that she probably made up in her head.

"Huh. Did he kiss you good night?"

"Ahhhh…" Elsa was going to interpret that as a yes.

"It must have been a better kiss than usual."

"U-huh…"

"Like, a big, deep, passionate kiss?"

"Yes. It was romantic. Everyone could see how in love we were…" And Anna caught what was coming from her mouth. "Yikes! Elsa, the public was staring!"

"Exactly."

Anna turned red. "Come to think of it, this is a little embarrassing…"

"And furthermore…" Elsa gave her that subtle smile that always held a meaning behind it. "I didn't hear whether he proposed the next step, dearie."

"Whatever do you mean, Elsie?"

"A proposal, of course," Elsa said somewhat impatiently.

"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Anna said, sitting up. "Kristoff and I have been together for so long now. We went on a date – I brought him home for you to meet, remember? You seem to like him! And we are in looovvvve, so it's about time already."

"But he still didn't propose."

"Mmm."

"Exactly." Elsa took Anna by the hands. "Hon, I'm not an expert at love," Elsa chuckled. "But as your big sister, my advice is don't put all your heart in a relationship that you don't know will continue forever."

"Of course it'll continue forever!" Anna spluttered. "We love each other. Very. Much."

"I just don't want you to experience heartache when you least expect it," Elsa persisted. "And while I'm not saying that you'll necessarily "break up", God forbid since he is such a sweet man, the memory of his kiss will leave a bad taste in your mouth." Elsa smiled sympathetically. "Please don't take this the wrong way."

Anna stopped to think. "Well, I'm glad you care. But don't worry, we will get married. I'm positive. Thanks, sis!" Anna patted Elsa's shoulder and bounded away.

"What I'm meaning to say, if you didn't get it, is that it'd be embarrassing if you ever break up with him and realize how you made out with him that one day in the streets!" Elsa called out after her.

"It's all right, Els!" Anna called back. However, she was truthfully irked that Elsa had to be such a stick-in-the-mud in this romantic moment. By the time she plopped into her bed, she was still irked. Now she got a taste of how the village girls felt when they gossiped about their annoying siblings. No, Elsa was the best sister ever, but…

"I will kiss Kristoff whenever I want," Anna huffed to herself as she snuggled deeper into the covers. "He is faithful. And we will marry one day."

"Even if we don't have the details sorted out yet…"

But the heat of rebellion inside her heart cooled with guilt as she remembered the last time Elsa was being infuriating. During a similar topic, in fact.

" _You can't marry a man you just met,"_ Elsa had said when Anna foolishly fell for this jerk, Hans. Years after, the memories of her gullibility back then still gnawed at her. But Elsa was not wrong in her judgements.

But Anna didn't want to think about it now…no, better she change her thoughts about the love of her life, and about marrying him one day.

Kristoff.

* * *

 _Ugh._

Trying to get married was harder than she thought.

For one, Elsa stopped giving free marriage advice.

"Not now, Anna," Elsa said shortly when her sister asked her to suggest the best place for a honeymoon. "Where's the rush? You're not getting married right now, and I have an urgent, urgent matter to attend to."

"What is this?" Anna pointed to some papers lying at Elsa's fingertips.

Elsa sighed. "It's bad. Albert Nilson is up to no good again. He's a criminal who was convicted in prison for multiple felonies. But he's escaped and…" Elsa took a deep breath. "What's worse is that he is Hans' former advisor and friend."

Anna's eyes widened. "Okay, okay, but that's what he is: Hans' friend. It's not like Hans himself escaped. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Yes, but in case Albert got tipped off by Hans to do something, I am trying to set up more border protections." Elsa sighed again. "So I'm pretty stressed about this."

For another, maybe she was just overreacting, but at the same time, Anna noticed how Kristoff would cancel their future date plans for some important but generic "plans" that he couldn't miss.

"I'm sorry, Anna, but I can't miss my meeting with the other ice harvesters!" Kristoff asserted when Anna made a pouty face at him before he got onto his sleigh without another word.

"Because you told me about the ice meeting yesterday."

"I did?" Kristoff looked confused, maybe even a little wary. "Oh, I did. And?"

"I saw you at a kiosk, buying barrels of beer."

"So what? My guys like partying things up."

"You hurried away from me when you saw me."

Kristoff looked out of excuses now. "Look, do you trust me?" he finally said.

"I'd like to, but you're not acting trustworthy."

"Then you'll have to trust me a little longer."

"Come on!" Anna protested. "Tell me the truth. It's what couples do."

Kristoff stiffened up, so that first Anna thought the message was finally getting to him.

But then, Kristoff broke down.

"Look, if you're guilt-tripping me like this just to satisfy your curiosity, then we can't go on like this!" Kristoff snapped.

Anna blinked. _Snapped._ Kristoff actually snapped!

"Excuse me, but you do pry all the time!" Kristof continued. "A man's gotta reserve the right to his secrets too, you know."

"Then why didn't you tell me that earlier?!"

"I…I thought you'd figure one day!"

The conversation turned into lame insults, which attracted the eyes of several passerby looking for juicy village gossip. Once Kristoff was aware of that, he digressed and got into his sled.

"Fine, you know what? Don't tell me! If you can't trust me, I can't trust you either!"

"So this is where our paths diverge then, huh?" Kristoff said as he climbed into his sleigh.

"Maybe."

"Good! Because I've had it!" Kristoff said. He flicked the reins, urging Sven on (who looked over puzzled at the lovers) and sped away without another word.

"'I've had it'? Fine! Be that way!" Anna shouted at him, even though he was out of earshot by now. "Ugh!" In frustration, she kicked the head of a random snowman standing in the streets. What she didn't expect was for the head to squeal, "Weeee! Incoming!" before landing in a pile of snow.

"Olaf?!" Anna exclaimed, covering her mouth in shock before implanting the head back onto its proper body. "I – I'm so sorry, I was so frustrated…I- I thought you were just another snowman…"

"Brrr!" Olaf, who never took offense, shook remaining snow residue off his head. "You're not the only one, actually. Everyone's so angry today!" Anna amused herself at the thought of angry villagers pummeling Olaf's head all day; however, the argument weighed on her conscience. Olaf then saw Anna's anguished expression. "What is wrong, Anna?" he said.

When Anna filled him in, nearly breaking down into tears in the process, Olaf shook his head with sympathy.

"Poor, poor Anna…" The snowman patted her back with his stick arm. "I know exactly how you feel."

 _How? Has Elsa made you a girlfriend yet?"_ Anna thought skeptically.

"Wait!" Olaf waddled up to her. "How about I see what Kristoff's _really_ up to?" Even behind his innocent smile Anna noticed the determination that came with the thrill of spying on someone.

"Okay!" And Anna winked at him.

And both friends parted ways: Olaf to spy and report back, and Anna to take a walk and clear her mind.

 _What am I really worried about? That we're too incompatible for each other? Maybe Kristoff doesn't love me anymore? No, no, stop worrying, Anna! I should trust him. We've been together a long time. Maybe I'll buy him a bouquet of roses right now, and I'll maybe stick around till he gets back. Then maybe I'll apologize. This'll be awkward. I mean, I never argued with Kristoff, so I never needed to apologize. Not like that! Darn. Only wish we didn't have this tension between us._

Just as she finished paying the florist, she felt a tug at her skirts.

"Back so soon?" Anna queried, looking down at Olaf.

"Yeah! I saw Kristoff!"

"Where?"

"I saw him talking with a girl outside the cake shop."

"Really!"

"Yeah! Uh, I stayed still as a…snowman," Olaf chortled.

Anna laughed a little thinking about his camouflage attempts.

Olaf continued, "His exact words were: 'April 20…a wedding cakes a…I want everything…perfect…'"

Anna guessed that he couldn't get close enough within earshot to hear everything.

"'…don't tell Anna about this…'"

That broke the straw on the camel's back.

 _Talking with girls…about wedding cakes…surely, he can't…!_

"Surely this can't get any worse," Anna said quietly.

"Ooh ooh!" Olaf gasped, remembering something. "And he kissed her, too! On the cheek! Like this-" And Olaf puckered his lips and imitated a loud smacking kiss.

The idea was too unbearable for her to bear. Without another word, she cast down the bouquet and sprinted away, leaving Olaf still talking. "What's a wedding! I want to see a wedding! Wait, Anna? Anna?"

* * *

Anna was hunched against a tree overlooking the edge of Arendelle in silence.

 _I should've known. This relationship wasn't meant to be. Either wasn't good enough for him, or he isn't good enough for me. He was meeting with someone else. Why else would he be hiding secrets from me?_

 _Elsa was right. Again. I shouldn't give my all to someone who doesn't want to take a relationship seriously._

 _I regret kissing him. I regret even meeting him!_

But at this point it was, of course, irrational thinking. She was exhausted, and she needed to face matters sooner or later. With a deep sigh, she stood up. She took a step forward. And walked. And then tread faster. And faster, and faster, till she broke into a run. Ideas burning in her head fueled her plight right now.

Suddenly, getting back at Kristoff for cheating looked deliciously appealing.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Anna imagined scenarios of herself crashing Kristoff's wedding. Typically it looked like this: Anna bursts through the church doors, shouts, "I object!" just when Kristoff is about to say "I do" to the bride who replaced Anna and Olaf toddles in as the witness, confirming that he saw Krisitoff's unfaithfulness with his own eyes. So consumed was she by the thoughts that at one point Anna took it to the next level and performed a conjuring spell on the zombgies that regularly guarded the palace. She first made sure it was a spell that she could easily reverse if anything got out of hand. When Olaf asked what her plan of action was, Anna asked if he was all right with helping her crash a party.

"What is 'crashing a party'?"

"It's where we come in as surprise guests. Surprise!"

"Ahhh, I see!" Olaf grinned and nodded, and waddled away while humming something out of tune with the words, "Surprise" repeating in them.

Meanwhile, to Anna's self-righteous indignation, Kristoff still didn't bother calling in or contacting her. That, or he was deliberately avoiding her.

But Anna still needed to be absolutely certain that her theory wasn't just something bogus. So one evening at dinner, she decided to test her older sister. The elder was more secretive than usual, Anna noticed, even if the signs were subtle.

 _Maybe,_ Anna thought, _it's because she knows something about Kristoff's unfaithfulness and she doesn't want to break it to me yet._

"I think Kristoff is cheating on me!" Anna blurted out over her bread.

Elsa, who was about to take a bite of her caviar salad, put down her fork and looked over at Anna almost… disbelievingly?

And why would you think that?" Elsa said.

"Oh, actually, I was just thinking… _suppose_ he's cheating on me. Suppose," Anna said, deflecting the question. She wasn't about to delve into the details.

If Elsa knew about the lovers' current relationship status, then she didn't indicate any sign that she knew. She only sighed compassionately and said,

"Well, Anna, if reasons indicate it, then sooner or later Kristoff will come clean. He will have to. And you'll know."

Anna nodded. "Well, thanks, Elsa." She grabbed a piece of bread and, without excusing herself from the table, she strolled away while Elsa gazed after her diminishing figure in the distance.

"Where does she get those ideas?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

* * *

Anna tossed and turned all night as she thought about what her sister said. Elsa did seem clueless and surprised about the topic of Kristoff's unfaithfulness. But maybe she was hiding it.

 _I mean, why else would she be so secretive? And Kristoff, too, for that matter. They are up to something! And it must be connected to Kristoff's secret meeting!_

 _I might be overreacting. Gasp! What if really overreacting?_

Suddenly, it didn't seem like Mission: Catch-the-Cheater anymore. Why would Elsa cover up anything? Wouldn't she save her little sis trouble by telling her straightaway what she saw in Kristoff?

 _Easy, Anna. You know the saying: love is blind. Maybe I was too blind to be using reason._

 _Maybe. Okay. Tomorrow's the day. I'll just find out what those two are up to, but if the worst-case scenario is confirmed…I'm going to make such a stink!_

* * *

"Where are you going, Elsa?"

"Oh…just run a few errands," Elsa said absentmindedly. It was after breakfast, and Elsa was just getting ready to go out.

 _Just a few errands, hmm? After putting on a mink coat and that extra touch of makeup?_

Anna planned everything from the beginning: 1) follow Elsa's carriage incognito via another carriage, and 2) lay low till she found out where Elsa was headed.

Hopefully she wouldn't bump into Kristoff on the way.

The plan went off without a hitch. But spying from afar, when Anna saw Elsa walk into a church, along with dozens of other well-dressed guests, her heart fell.

A church could only mean one thing.

 _Someone_ was getting married without notifying her, obviously.

 _Wait, what was that?_

A beautiful bride in a long bridal dress, along with a trail of bridesmaids and flower girls, was approaching the church.

Anna didn't recognize her. But from her hiding spot behind the trees, Anna kept her eyes on her till she drifted into the church. When she was sure nobody was looking, she came forth and spied through the windows of the church.

 _Now, about the groom…_

To her surprise – or not so much, since she knew all along that she was overreacting– the groom, standing up in the altar, was someone she didn't recognize. So definitely not Kristoff.

 _Gosh, I was so stupid!_ Anna giggled a little, now that she thought about the whole dumb Kristoff-is-a-cheater conspiracy.

Anna still wondered why all the secrecy, but she was so relieved that she decided to wait out the rest of the morning till she'd catch Kristoff, and watch the wedding meanwhile.

Wait – oh, right there! She caught sight of Kristoff, three rows away from Elsa, sitting with the same girl that Anna spied earlier who talked with Kristoff.

 _Wait, what is she doing here?!_ Anna's heart skipped a beat. No matter. After the wedding, she will spring the surprise onto Kristoff. Minus the zombgie guards. She decided she didn't need them in order to cause a scandal around the village.

Something pulled at Anna's sleeve. She nearly jumped into the air before realizing that it was her snowman friend.

"Hey!" Olaf said jovially. "Are we gonna-"

"Tsss!" Anna shushed the snowman so he wouldn't give her away. Olaf continued in a whisper, "-crash that party yet?" He chortled.

Anna shook her head. "I…don't know. We'll just have to wait and see."

As expected, the mysterious bride and groom exchanged wedding vows on the alter. What she didn't expect, however, was for a tall, burly man and what looked like his guards to slip out of the back of the church and surround the filled pews, holding everyone hostage.

"What were you thinking, Godtfred?" The burly man said slyly. "Your parents would've been sooo disappointed at this scenario. An elopement? With Princess Gabriella? Please," he scoffed.

The groom closed around his bride as though to shield her.

"You don't understand, Alfred!" Godtfred shouted. "My parents are blind to see how the Southern Isles could benefit from an alliance with the Danish kingdom!"

"And whose idea was this?" Alfred said.

"Queen Elsa of Norway's, Princess Gida's of Dane, and mine. We as allies collaborated together to spread our love of peace and friendship to the Southern Isles, no matter what Prince Hans has done to tarnish his kingdom's reputation."

"Excuse me, but your _brother,_ ahem, wouldn't have ever approved. Not when Norway is involved," Alfred smirked.

Anna gasped. _Is this Alfred Nilson, Hans' friend? So the groom must be one of Hans' brothers, and the bride a princess of the Danish kingdom!_

Alfred turned towards the crowd. "Stay still, and nobody gets hurt," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business from Hans…"

 _Oh, no, you won't, you bastard!_ Anna thought with fierceness. _Elsa will put a stop to this._

Elsa indeed did try.

"Hold it right there, traitor!" Elsa shouted, rising up from her seat and preparing to fire a blast of ice at him.

Alfred quickly signaled to his guard near her, and just as some ice shot past her fingertips, narrowly missing Alfred, a guard seized her from behind and wrestled her into strong metallic handcuffs. Alfred watched in satisfaction as Elsa struggled to freeze herself out of her cuffs, all in vain.

"I was told to be prepared should I ever confront you," Alfred said. "Luckily, I got a witch to put a spell on these handcuffs and take away your powers when they're on."

Anna watched in horror, frozen in her spot as before her eyes a guard held her sister down. And the guests were too scared to even react.

They needed back-up. Any of it. Unfortunately, the Arendelle guards were overtaken by the Alfred's stronger guards.

 _I must do something. Something!_ Anna paced around in desperation as she thought. She could alert more guards from the village. But that could take a while; by the time security came, it could be too late.

They needed faster backup.

 _Faster backup…_

And it suddenly hit Anna.

"You won't get away with this!" Godtfred shouted, unsheathing his sword.

Alfred chuckled with amusement. "I just did." He took out own his sword, and, after a quick duel, flung Godtfred's sword out of the way with his own. "I'll give my best regards to your brother." And just as he was about to take a dangerous swing at Godtfred…

"Sto-o-op!" Anna shouted from outside. The side door slammed open, a force knocking the guards guarding it from outside out of the way. "STOP THE WEDDING!"

Alfred withdrew his sword to see who had successfully broken in. His expression turned from bemusement to that mixed with horror and surprise, as did everyone else's in the room.

Anna was standing at the broken-down door. Rows of growling and snarling zombgies were behind her.

"Oh. Oh," Alfred said listlessly. "So you're that airheaded girl Hans told me about."

Anna flushed with anger. _Oh, Hans still talks about me, huh? Well, then…_

Olaf, who was at her side, tugged at her sleeve again.

"I've got your back, Anna," Olaf whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Anna nodded. "Attack!" she shouted, pointing at Alfred and the guards. The loosed zombgies snarled, reared their claws in the air, and stormed into the church.

Alfred wasn't sure he much to show against those overwhelmingly scary creatures, so he was going to at least finish the job. He quickly swiped at Godtfred, to which the latter jumped back, but not without earning a gash in his shoulder. Luckily, the biggest zombgie of them all came to the rescue. He lifted Alfred up and slammed him onto the floor. Now Alfred could only twitch from his place.

"Now, now," Anna said to the big one, shaking her finger. "Be kind, now. Why don't you just hold him there, and I'll settle him later?" And Anna ran towards the nave of the church to find her sister. All across the pews, zombgies, and some of the braver guests stood a stand against the guards. Some guards fell, and some zombgies that were stabbed enough disappeared in a magical flurry. At one point, two guards approached Anna with readied swords, but suddenly they both crumpled to the floor. And behind them, the source of the hits was-

"Rapunzel! Eugene!" Anna squealed. Hallelujah! The couple, who were attending the wedding, were both hitting unsuspecting guards behind the head with – what else? – pans.

"Got your back, Anna!" Rapnuzel cried in victory before jumping into another fight.

Eugene wolf-whistled at his fierce wife as she slammed the pot into another unsuspecting guard. "She was right about taking these along!" he chuckled

A nice revelation, but Anna still had to find Elsa.

 _Wait._ She was standing all by herself, handcuffs and all, near the foremost pew. Luckily her guard was distracted by two zombgies.

And just as Anna was about to reach her sister, Alfred blocked Anna's way and grabbed Elsa by the arms, which were tied behind her, and put a blade at her throat.

"Everybody don't move!" Alfred hollered. "Or the Queen is dead!" It took a while for the message to sink into the crowd.

"No!" Anna shrieked and scanned the room for any signs of help. While there were now significantly fewer active guards in Alfred's command, as were her zombgies.

 _Forget zombgies. Now I need sheer luck to save my sister._

"Don't kill her…please," Anna whimpered.

"'Don't kill her, please'," Alfred mocked her. "I don't actually need the Queen dead or anything from her, oh, no. What I _really_ want is Hans' brother." He pointed at Godtfred, standing near the perpetrator. "So give Godtfred to me, and I'll peacefully and legally arrest him on Arendelle grounds and make sure he's sent back to the Southern Isles, where he'll get what he deserves. Then I'll release the Queen."

Anna paled. Would Godtfred want to surrender himself? But then, he had no choice either way. So wouldn't he choose the peaceful way?

Or maybe, untrustworthy as Alfred was, would he still kill Elsa after the negotiation?

Anna looked back at Elsa, who glared intently back at her, then away. If this was the last time Anna could ever look into her sister's eyes again, she didn't want to think about it.

But Elsa didn't stop glaring at Anna and shifting her eyes at the handcuffs. It took Anna five full seconds to realize that unbeknownst to Alfred, Elsa was trying to send a secret message to Anna.

Elsa glared at Anna again in a pleading look, then looked to her handcuffs, then shifted her eyes to Alfred's side. Anna responded by looking at Elsa's handcuffs and back at her with wide eyes. _Wait, so he has the key?_

Elsa responded with a tiniest nod, then looked over at Godtred.

 _Aha._ Anna knew what to do now.

"I would like to talk it over with Godtfred for one minute," Anna announced.

"Thirty seconds," Alfred replied coldly.

Godtfred came over and whispered to Anna, "It's fine, Anna. I'll give myself up to Alfred. I shouldn't have tried to marry her…"

"Don't be stupid, he'll probably kill you anyways," Anna hissed. "But listen: when you submit yourself to Alfred, find the key that binds Elsa together. It should be on him. You should see it. When you have the chance, _grab_ the key and throw it to me, and I'll release Elsa and-"

Time's up!" Alfred announced.

Godtfred looked hesitant as he took a step forward.

"Trust me!" Anna mouthed, waving him forward with her hand. Godtfred took a breath and came to Alfred.

"There, there, wasn't that hard now, see?" Alfred released Elsa and recklessly threw her towards Anna, onto the ground. Two guards seized Godtfred so he wouldn't resist.

On his way out the door, Alfred stopped.

"Oh, and before I part ways...here is something from Hans." Alfred unsheathed his sword and threw it at Anna. The aim was true, and it was coming straight at Anna's throat.

"NO!" Elsa screamed. But before she could throw herself in front of her sister, someone else jumped in front of both of them.

Kristoff.

Anna could instantly recognize the burly figure. She cringed back when she heard the dreaded sound.

"KRISTOFF!" She screamed. She'd run to him, but she was frozen with shock. She barely even noticed a tussle that broke out between Alfred and Godtfred.

"Anna!" Something miniature flew through the air, catching Anna's attention.

The key. It must have been inadvertently flew out of Alfred's pocket.

But as she watched, the key flew away onto the other side of the room, down onto the floor along with Anna's sinking heart. Surely now, one of Alfred's guards would get it first-

"I got it!" A stick hand poked its hand out in the air, clutching the key.

Anna gave a weak gasp of relief as Olaf tossed her the key. She caught it and grasped for it as though for dear life. Right as Alfred began roaring at his guards to seize Anna and Elsa, Anna with fumbling hands pried the key in the lock. "Come on!"

The guards seized Anna, but too late for them: Elsa broke out of her cuffs. She stood up and, with one swift wave, froze the guards in their place.

"As for _you…"_ Elsa swirled a ball of icy magic into the air and cast it onto Alfred. It hit him and he was enclosed in a sheet of ice.

The crowed let out a cheer, and Elsa smiled with relief. One of Elsa's guards ran towards Elsa. "Your Majesty, what would you like to do with Alfred and his minions?"

"Send them back to the Southern Isles. Give Alfred a trial that'll lock him up for life," Elsa croaked with an exhausted and relieve sigh. She would deal with them later. She was free now, against all odds, but there was something grave, very grave, that she had to deal with first.

Anna was kneeling right beside a wounded Kristoff, who was stabbed in the chest.

"Kristoff…stay with me…stay with me…" Anna was sobbing over and over again. She brought up his hand to her cheek. The scene of the brokenhearted princess garnered the crowd of wedding guests closer to her.

Kristoff didn't say anything at first. Maybe because he was so busy heaving and coughing and scrabbling for these last few live moments with Anna.

"Anna, I will always love you-" _cough cough,_ "Always."

"Look, Kristoff, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that I said those…mean things to you, and that I didn't trust you. I'M SORRY, KRISTOFF!"

Anna's hysterics reached a scream, which was the guards' cue to pull her away. She continued resisting them, scratching and kicking because she just couldn't latch off.

"Anna, stop." Elsa said. She put her ear Kristoff's chest and after listening, she waved her hand over Kristoff's still body, which instantly turned as pale as ice. "He still has a heartbeat. I put a cryogenic spell over him, which will delay the effects of his wounds…" Elsa pursed her lips. "For a while."

"And then…?" Anna was too afraid of the answer. She broke down into more sobs so heart-wrenching that Elsa had to hold her tight and cry with her.

"In a while, he'll be with the angels," said the pastor approaching them, who hid in the pulpit all along. "Would you like us to prepare a funeral for him?"

Elsa looked at Anna.

"But he's not dead yet," Anna said softly. She knew, she knew though, that he wouldn't last much longer. But she would be here for him. Down to his very last heartbeat.

Now she stopped wailing, but her tears were streamed down her cheeks as she knelt down and threw herself on him. Several guests bowed their heads or took off their hats in mourning.

"I love you, Kristoff," she whispered in his ear. May that be the last thing he'd hear from her. Then she slowly locked lips against his in a farewell kiss.

Anna wasn't quite done kissing him when Elsa grasped Anna's hand.

'W-what, Els-"

"Look!" Elsa pointed at the body of Kristoff. At first, Anna was horrified that something bad was going to happen to his body. But – and she could hardly breathe from unbelievable hope – Kristoff's ice-skin seemed to be thawing into ivory, which then transitioned into its normal skin tone.

"Elsa, is he-" Anna suddenly gasped; then, hardly daring to breathe, she checked his shirt. Yes, there was blood, but underneath it, no wound. She checked his heart pulse. It was beating – yes, it was! Did that mean he was…

A large hand on top of her head was all the answer she needed. Anna took one look at Kristoff, his smile faint and eyes blinking, trying to sit up – and with a joyful shriek she threw herself onto him and grasped him so hard that Elsa almost had to pull Anna away for fear of strangling him.

"How are you alive?" Anna asked once she pulled away from her share of hugging and kissing him

Kristoff shrugged as best he could. "Uhh…I told the angels that I had unfinished business down here." He smiled weakly. "Sorry I scared you, hun."

Elsa, who was watching the sweet scenario between her sister and lover, said, "I think my cryogenic magic had a sort of healing power where if you give the person who's frozen a true love's kiss-"

"Then they wake up!" Anna and Kristoff finished together. And while they went in for another embrace, Elsa announced, "Kristoff is alive!"

"Hallelujah! It's a miracle, a miracle, I say!" the pastor cried out joyfully while the guests erupted into cheers.

An _ahem_ from Godtfred brought Elsa back to attention.

"Your Majesty, I do apologize how much trouble my elopement with Princess Gida Olsen of Dane brought you all so much trouble," he began.

Elsa waved him off. "Don't be. We worked on this together, remember?" She faced the crowd. "No matter what our past was, we _will_ tie stronger bonds with the Southern Isles!" she announced. "The Isles mustn't have _any_ restrictions on allying with us, no matter its history."

The crowd cheered again.

"Perhaps we should pick another time to get married," Godtfred said, indicating to Anna and Krisoff."

Elsa shook her head. "We didn't come all the way here just to be set back by any rogues from the Southern Isles." She glanced at Alfred, who was sneering at his spot from the guards' grasp. And Elsa started giving orders.

"Anna, Kristoff, if you would like to continue being guests for this special wedding today, please find seats in the pews. Guards, you know what to do with Alfred. Father-" she looked at the pastor. "With Godtfred's and Gida's consent, please continue the wedding."

* * *

Since Elsa insisted so that the wedding continue as though uninterrupted, Godtfred and his fiancé exchanged their vows on the pulpit. Kristoff and Anna, meanwhile, tried to make a pretense of hearing in on the wedding, but Anna was so overjoyed that Kristoff, whom she nearly lost, was alive, and Kristoff felt the same way, that they did almost nothing else but cuddle in their seats and whisper how happy they were. Elsa would've reminded them, "PDA, guys!" but this time she decided to pass it up.

"Why did you and Elsa keep this wedding a secret from me?" Anna asked.

Kristoff blushed. "Oh, that. It's a secret."

"Doh!" Anna huffed. "I can't take any more secrets."

"I'll explain after the wedding," Kristoff promised. "But hey, if you weren't so meddlesome…"

"Then Alfred would have won, I know," Anna finished. "Looks like curiosity didn't kill the cat today."

"Yup."

"Oh, Kristoff? One more thing. I'm sorry for the things I said. If that was worth breaking up with me, I understand."

Kristoff looked taken aback. "Wait, are we talking about – what happened during our last fight?"

"Yup." Anna nodded grimly. "Please don't take me so seriously next time. I just… oh, forget it." Anna splayed her hands in the air.

"Anna, I'd never even _think_ of breaking up with you!" Kristoff said. "All right, I admit, I was a little catty, a little exhausted from my days' work. But face it, all lovers have fight sometimes, all right?"

Anna sighed. "Right. But I'm sorry if I'm too meddlesome."

"I'm sorry, too."

"Like, _really_ sorry."

"Yea, me too."

"I'm more sorry than you are."

"Hey!"

Anna giggled, and Elsa had to nudge her.

"Oh, Kristoff, one more question," she said after she quieted down. "Why did you kiss her?"

"Who, now?"

"That girl with the white bonnet."

"Oh, you actually saw that?" Kristoff spluttered.

Anna smiled innocently. "Oh, let's just say a little, erm, _snowman_ told me."

"My relative was in town!" Kristoff protested. "What's wrong with an innocent farewell kiss to my own cousin twice removed?"

Anna snorted with laughter and dropped the subject forever. Her snoopiness was definitely a blessing and a curse. But maybe she'll work on the "curse" part. After all, lovers are never perfect.

She was also tempted to ask him about the conversation she'd overheard with Kristoff last time, but reconsidered. Now she was just content lying back on the crook of Kristoff's arm and observing the wedding with him.

 _A wedding that could one day feature me up there. With Kristoff._

Oh, she wished.

Finally, the groom kissed the bride and all the guests partook in a wonderful feast. Though Anna and Kristoff were cuddling and kissing so much at the table that one would've thought that it was Anna's and Kristoff's nuptials instead.

Then before the bride stepped into the carriage, she turned to the crowd and tossed her bouquet into the air. All the girls screamed and put their hands in the air as though to catch it, but it landed in Elsa's arms.

"Congrats, Elsa!" Anna gasped.

Then she gasped again as Elsa passed the bouquet to Anna, and at the same time Kristoff got down on his knees in front of Anna and fished out a ring out of his pocket.

"Will you marry me?"

"We were planning to set up an engagement party right after this one!" Elsa explained. "I was terribly busy lately, and I only had time for it today. That's why it was all a secret!"

Self-explanatory enough, but Anna didn't hear. She was too wrapped up in a passionate kiss with Kristoff while gasping out exhilarating yesses in between.

* * *

 **The scene where Elsa gives the bouquet to Anna while Kristoff asked to marry her was based on a real-life vid I saw on Instagram. What a great way to propose!**

 **I was gone so long because I was busy writing a fiction book during CampNaNoWriMo! LOL. But stayed tuned for the last chapter to come! I bet you can guess what it's about. ;)**

 **Sorry if anybody here is OOC. I'm still learning to portray characters accurately.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **KoolKat**


	20. Vows

Vows

 _Anna had more than one to make._

* * *

"I can't believe I'm saying this!" Anna exclaimed, "But in a few minutes, it'll be him and me, me and him!" She squirmed on her spot, her wedding train stretching under the grasps of Gerda and Elsa.

"Calm down, Anna, we're trying to make a few adjustments here!" Elsa admonished gently, tugging at her sister's lengthy train.

"I was like that when I married Flynn," Rapunzel said through the flower stems she held in her teeth as she took them out one by one to adorn Anna's hair.

"One more move and you'll have to walk that aisle without the train altogether!" Greta said, a little exasperated. "Stand still!" She adjusted the lace a little, and when she still wasn't satisfied, she snapped her fingers for further assistance from the royal tailors.

Anna had to stand like this for three hours straight in the royal dressing room. She wasn't even sure she could make it through the aisle with all that standing, but for Gerda's sake, she stood stone-still for a few more minutes.

Elsa came around to face Anna in her stock-still position to provide comfort. "Don't worry, sis," she said, smiling. "We're almost done."

"If by 'almost done' you mean 'now'," Anna muttered. Rapunzel laughed sympathetically, while Elsa continued. "So, I guess I'll have to substitute for Papa to give you away."

"Yup, but under such circumstances, I wouldn't have it either way!" Anna said. While Elsa was going to do that, they also arranged for Rapunzel to be one of Anna's bridesmaids. Little Leeza, a girl that Anna knew, was going to be the flower girl. Olaf would be the ringbearer. All in all, Anna was going to be surrounded by many friends and loved ones today for her marriage to Kristoff.

"Is it done yet?" Anna asked through gritted teeth as she still felt the fuss behind her dress.

"Hey, just to cheer you up," Elsa said, "You know how we tried to train Olaf to walk the aisle as the ringbearer, right? Well, you can see how that turned out – his toddles caused the rings to spill over, so he'd always present us with just the pillow!"

Rapunzel laughed. "Well," she chimed in, not taking her eyes off the flowers she was weaving into Anna's intricate braids, "just wait till you hear the story I heard about the ringbearers at _my_ wedding…"

The two girls giggled and bonded over their stories, but Anna couldn't hear any of it. She just needed to sit down _so badly._ She shifted her weight again.

"All right, all right, you can sit a little," one of the tailors said resignedly. Elsa pulled up a chair behind Anna and Anna plopped down – daintily, so she wouldn't wrinkle her dress – and exhaled in relief.

Before long, Anna's final touches to her wedding ensemble were finished.

"All done." Gerda patted Anna up while the servants brought forth a mirror for Anna to see through.

"Wow…" Anna breathed.

"Wow!" Elsa and Rapunzel exclaimed, with the latter clapping her hands.

Anna was in a thin, form-fitting wedding gown. It looked similar to Elsa's dress except the hem fanned out, and her arms were covered with lace sleeves. A long, sheer train trailed behind, also made of the most intricate, expensive lace in the kingdom. Anna lightly felt at her hair – courtesy of Rapunzel the hair expert, her hair was braided back in a carefully styled bun, decorated with tiny white flowers and Elsa's snowflakes to top it off.

"Ooh! And my favorite part-" With her hand, Elsa tossed a bundle of sparkling flurries at Anna's dress, which glammed up the look right away.

Leeza, who was admitted entrance to the room, immediately saw the gown and exclaimed with girlish admiration.

"I know, right!" Anna beamed. And Anna took the time to admire Leeza's own flower girl gown before the trumpets sounded in the courtyard.

Anna gasped. "It's time, it's time!"

"Right! No time to lose!" Rapunzel said perkily, and lifted up Anna's train before the other servants came to the rescue.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked as in the corner, Elsa suddenly bent over and put her hand up against the wall. Elsa, who breathed haggardly for a few seconds, didn't answer at first.

"Elsa?" Anna came closer, concerned for her sister.

When the breathing died down a little, Elsa straightened herself and looked at her sister in a reassured manner. "Oh, it's nothing. Just…you know." Elsa fanned herself with her hands. "A little exhausted. Been helping with the preparations since early morning."

"Well, maybe you should rest a little." Anna led her sister to her chair, but she immediately stood up.

"No, I'm fine. Really," Elsa insisted. She smiled. "Now, just remember, when you get to the chapel, be sure to not trip across the aisle."

"Yes, yes," Gerda added, who was feeling unusually fussy today. "Keep your eyes on the front – don't let them wander. When you get to the pastor, _stay very still!"_

"Don't second-guess yourself," Rapunzel said, contributing to the talk.

" _Don't_ kiss the groom before the actual wedding ceremony."

"Don't forget to breathe!"

Anna was so overwhelmed at this point that she plopped down on her seat, eliciting more laughter among everyone in the room.

"Excuse me?" Anna stopped a passing lady-in-waiting. "In my washroom I have a box. In that box, can you fetch me a little velvet pouch?"

"Of course," the lady-in-waiting said, curtseying the exiting.

"What for?" Elsa inquired.

"Pills for energy," Anna said breathlessly. "I'll need some."

* * *

At the entrance of the chapel, after the long carriage ride, Anna waited with impatient uncertainty. Guests from many different countries were already seated, ready for the wedding to begin. The bridesmaids and ringbearer and flower girl were in their positions. And Elsa was at Anna's side. Rapunzel was chatting happily with one of the bridesmaids, when suddenly the trumpets sounded.

"It's time!" Anna squealed, bouncing up and down on her sister's arm.

She waited, just _waited_ , till the assistant pastor checked behind the doors to see if the bride was ready. A minute later, doors opened. Finally, the church organ began its wedding march, and _finally_ , Anna took the first step along with her sister.

Up ahead, Kristoff was waiting, his back straight and beaming at seeing his beautiful bride floating through the aisle with his own best man as – who else? – Sven. Surely some may have been surprised at a reindeer in the chapel, but as Sven was very well groomed, wearing a bowtie to top off the look, and on his best behavior today, no one objected.

When Anna reached the aisle, she slipped her arms out of Elsa's and joined hands with Kristoff. After a blush and a bashful smile, Anna locked gazes with Kristoff. The pastor cleared his throat and began.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of God and these witnesses to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…"

After the speech, the pastor said a prayer for the couple, all during which Kristoff and Anna's hands entwined around each other and both shared endearing whispers of their love.

"Kristopher Bjorgman, do you take Anna Agnarr Ingebritson to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do," Kristoff said, looking intently straight ahead at the pastor.

Anna was vaguely aware that Elsa wasn't within her peripheral vision, but she waited with bated breath, for the right moment to say the special words to Kristoff, to her about-to-be husband…

"And do you, Anna Agnarr Ingebritson, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

 _Where is Elsa to see this?_ Anna thought for a split second. But without any hesitation, she took a breath to speak the words. "I d-"

A whoosh so loud that Anna had to scream and cover her ears issued into the chapel, surrounding each inch of the place. Suddenly it turned cold, really cold, and Anna's kitten heels were slipping underneath her. When the whooshing stopped and she dared to open her eyes, she expected the worst. She gasped aloud with horror.

Everyone in the segregation, just everyone, including the pastor and Sven and Kristoff, were frozen like ice statues. In fact, the entire place was frozen.

Anna immediately thought back to the source.

 _Elsa._

 _Oh, poor baby, what more did she freeze?_ Thinking quickly, Anna hitched up her long train and bounded out the side door, where she was sure to find Elsa.

Elsa was hunched up against the wall like before, only this time, the distress was evident on her face. _Thank goodness,_ Anna thought, _the grass is maybe iced over, but her magic didn't spread beyond that._

As soon as Elsa saw Anna, she backed off as though acting on a reflex.

"Elsa!" Anna shouted. "Why are you still running away from me, after all this time?!"

"Of course I'm not…running away from you," Elsa finished lamely. She didn't go anywhere, but she met Anna's gaze with pain in her eyes "Oh, Anna, I'm so sorry I messed up your wedding. It didn't know it had to be this way…" Tears welled in Elsa's eyes now.

"Ssh, now…" Anna crouched over a crying Elsa. "Tell me what's going on."

"Anna, I froze everything and everyone!"

"Can you reverse it?"

"It's possible…"

"Good. Now what happened?"

With Anna's soothing back rubs, Elsa slowly regained her breath. "When it hit me that you were finally given away to a man to love and keep forever, I kept getting those panic attacks. Y-you know what it's like! I'm just afraid of losing you. I know it sounds selfish of me, but I am afraid life won't ever be the same between us. Look, I know you need to live your own life, and that's why I didn't say anything. I don't want to be selfish. I don't!" As she said that, a frosty breeze whipped by, making Anna shiver lightly.

"No, you're not selfish," Anna protested. "I know your powers are based on the love you have for me. Without me around, you'd me nothing."

"Then why-!"

"I saw how stressed you were over the last few days. So I thought I'd bring this…" Anna pulled out a pouch, the same one she asked the servant to bring, and pulled out a snowflake necklace.

Elsa smiled dryly. "Oh, so the pills were a lie."

"Sorry. I know you prefer keeping your problems to yourself sometimes. That's why I was subtle. Anyway, I should be wearing mine more often…" Anna tied her snowflake around her neck, and then touched Elsa's which was already hanging around her own neck. "Remember, you gave this to me two Christmasses ago. Let this be a reminder that I'm _always_ with you. Oh, and did I mention? I'm still living with you in the castle. Except I'm sharing a room with my future hubby, hahah."

"Yes, but Anna, what about the castle you're planning to get to move in with Kristoff after the honeymoon-"

Anna laughed. "Is that all you're worried about? Elsa, I decided not to move in there anytime soon."

"But-but your freedom-"

"I know, Elsa, but I'm not merely doing this for YOUR sake. I WANT TO keep living with my queen. My sister. In our castle. This is my true, honest-to-goodness desire. All right?" Anna smiled warmly and clasped Elsa's hand, a gesture of unconditional love never failing to warm Elsa's heart. Speaking of warmth-

"Look!" Anna gasped, grasping Elsa's hand more tightly as ice started melting around them. "On a final note, I want to be with you, Elsa. Just because I'm gonna be married, that doesn't change anything!"

"Okay," Elsa said resignedly. "But I'm not gonna allow you to stay in Arendelle all your life because an icy queen gets attached to her sister."

Anna tapped her sister's snowflake. "On its own timing, sis. And when I do go somewhere…you'll learn to cope. I know it."

The snow was sizzling and fluttering away. Elsa's panic was subsiding.

"I'm sorry for crashing your wedding, though!" Elsa chuckled weakly.

"Well, nothing matters more than my sister's well-being," Anna declared firmly. "In fact-" she grabbed her sister's hand again, "-I vow to never, ever leave you in emotional stress till you can cope with it. Now can you just vow that you won't hesitate to tell me whatever bothers you next time? Even if it seems shameful. I mean, look how much this needless shame really bothered you, sis."

Elsa smiled more assertively to show that she understood, and she closed her hand onto Anna's. "Fine. I vow to not keep so much emotional baggage next time and to tell you."

"Good." Anna gave her sister's hand one last squeeze before she walked towards her previous position in front of the pastor, Elsa following anxiously. "You ready?"

Elsa nodded her assent. She closed her eyes and, with renewed energy bubbling within her, she let it transform into magic and spread across all the areas that were touched with her spell. The ice seeped away from the floor, the ice statues turned into the living, breathing people they were, and when Anna caught the glares of everyone waiting for her to say the right words, like nothing had happened, Anna said with energizing confidence, "I do."

* * *

The smørgåsbord dinner was the merriest one Anna has yet experienced. Coupled with toasts to the bride and groom, the feast lasted several hours. Anna and Kristoff passed around stories about each other, down to the first time they met each other.

"And in the end, maybe all things considered, if it weren't for my sister, I wouldn't have met the man of my dreams," Anna concluded in response to the toastmaster's introduction. Anna flashed Elsa a very brief smile, hoping that everything would be okay. To her relieved, Elsa never looked better. Usually an introvert unless it came to speaking with high officials for important business, Elsa let her hair down loose, so to speak, around her guests, not just with Anna.

 _Perfect._

After dinner came the wedding cake, followed by Bløtkake, cheesecake, among countless other delicacies. Then, as scheduled came the dance, which the bride and groom were supposed to kick off. Kristoff did practice some basic waltzing earlier, but as soon as he came onto the floor with Anna, he had cold feet.

"I could never dance, Anna," he hissed.

"But we were practicing, remember?" Anna whispered back.

"No matter. I can't dance!"

"Then I'll show you again. Hand over here-" here she moved Kristoff's hand to her waist, "-and watch me: step-two three back, step-two three back, step-two three forward, like this. Nope, nope, this time _my_ back, and _your_ forward…"

Kristoff was making a huge effort to remember, especially on his wedding day, Anna realized. She really sympathized for him. But before he had to endure any further embarrassment, the crowd awed. Not at the couple, no, but at Olaf the snowman. He was tap-dancing and swing-dancing with an invisible partner, which drew everyone's attention. Even Anna stopped in her tracks and laughed aloud. That is, till Olaf mouthed, _Go on!_ Interpreting that as Olaf's plan to distract the crowd from Kristoff's awkwardness, Anna pulled him around in a few more circles till more guests flooded onto the dance floor and the couple wasn't the main priority right now.

"Whew! No more dances after this, okay?" Kristoff said. He felt rather fussy at the moment.

"Aw, honey, but you're a good dancer!" Anna gently chided.

 _Honey. Honey! Now that he's my husband, calling him that just feels so…right!_

"Make me, then," Kristoff crooned.

"Fine. Let's take it easy." Now they weren't so much waltzing as just rocking back and forth around their spot. Eventually the couple slipped into a passionate kiss, not caring that their guests were spinning on the floor around them. Not caring that Elsa was looking on with happy tears in her eyes. Only one thing mattered now.

Each other.

* * *

A royal wedding wasn't a royal wedding without it lasting well through the night. It was 4:30 in the morning before several guests started to doze off for real, and luckily it was June, so everyone could still get to see the grande finale of the wedding in the early sunlight: the whisking away of the couple via carriage.

The first rays of sun were just starting to peep out when Anna and Kristoff, somewhat sleepy, somewhat lax from the glasses of wine they toasted to, and extremely exhausted, were starting to make their way, followed by the crowd towards the waiting carriage.

"Good bye! Good bye!" Anna shouted tearfully and waved from her seat. "Thank you for coming, everyone!"

"Good bye, Anna!" Olaf cried, standing on top of Sven's antlers for better views. "I hope you have a great honeymoon…what's a honeymoon?" Olaf whispered in Sven's ears.

Sven grunted and leaned his head side to side. _Well, it's when a married couple go on vacation to spend some time alone together._

"Yeah. I hope Anna and Kristoff have a great time up there, too. Though how they're gonna reach it...," he said, pointing at the waning moon above him and shrugging. Clearly he thought a honeymoon had something to do with the moon.

Sven grunted even louder and shook his head. _No, no, you don't understand! A honeymoon is when - oh brother, I wish I could_ _tell this snow-brain more clearly._

Anna was about to settle in the backseat of the carriage when suddenly,

"Oh!"

 _How could she forget?_

It was probably because of the wine that she forgot. Probably the wine. Anna scrambled out of the carriage, leaped out, and in a few quick strides, she threw herself into the waiting arms of Elsa; both held each other tightly for a long while, not saying a word.

"Form my heart to yours, have a great, great honeymoon, sis," Elsa said tearfully, before kissing her sister on each cheek. But they were happy tears, Anna knew.

Anna giggled and touched her flushing cheeks before diving in for another hug. "I will." They didn't have to say anymore in order to know what the other was thinking.

 _Remember all the great memories we had together?_

 _Remember when you couldn't sleep and we built snowman?_

 _Remember when you had a nightmare, and I ran to your rescue? Hilarity ensued._

 _Remember when you taught me to ride a bike?_

 _Remember when I adopted Liza?_

 _Remember when I chewed you out for interrupting my meeting? That one was funny._

 _Remember when I crashed Godtfred's and Gida's wedding?_

 _Remember all those spontaneous in-between moments when we enjoyed each other's company after so many years? Do you remember? Do you remember?_

 _I wonder, did you love me before then, Elsie?_

 _Actually, yes. Yes, I always loved you. Even in my darkest moments, I wanted you. I just didn't know how to show you…_

 _Elsa? I love you._

 _Me too._

Now, go." Elsa gently peeled off Anna's tight embraces and turned her towards the carriage.

"Are you sure you'll be okay without me?" Anna shouted just before the crowd cheered for the wedded couple again, and the coachman readied his whip.

Elsa laughed and waved her off. "Yes. Just go. Go!"

 _Of course I'll be okay,"_ Elsa thought in reassurance. _For you didn't just rekindle love in me. You are my eternal hope and joy. Love you, sis._

 _Don't look so wistful, silly. I'll always be with you! Love ya too!_ Anna thought. And just as she sank down next to Kristoff. The coachman whipped the horses into action.

Elsa touched her necklace with tenderness, long after the carriage pulled the couple out of sight into the woods. _Yes. I know you will be._

* * *

 **Annnd, finish. That's it, you guys. I'm finally bringing two years of work to a close. It's only proper, considering that this fanfiction accumulated over 50,000 words of 20 long-ish chapters. Now before this fanfiction falls into the abyss of obscure fanfiction forever, a few (admittedly sappy) regards to some of my readers:**

 **IndyGirl89 – You were an awesome follower and reviewer. Thank you SO much for being one of my most consistent, faithful reviewers. I'm glad you liked my works. Really, I'm so glad. No matter how slowly I updated.**

 **BellaCullen931 – Thank you to you, too, for taking the time to leave a nice review. Looking at your profile pic, is it weird that every time you dropped by I thought, "How nice to have a vampire named Bella Cullen for a loyal reader and reviewer"? Cuz it seemed that way in my head, and I thought it was cool. xD**

 **Timeless Number 1 – Annnd don't think I didn't forget about YOU, too! Our tastes in literature/movies are worlds apart, but you knew how close Frozen was to my heart. Thank you for reading my stash, thanks for the feedback, thanks for being my number one fan… thanks just for being there, you know?**

 **Everyone else – Thank you. It's been a pleasure writing for an audience these past years. Thanks for being a part of my writing journey, during which I still hope to improve. Frozen was not just a practice for me – it was a pleasure and a way to live with the two sisters/ power couple.**

 **I don't know whether I'll write more Frozen fanfictions in the future – there are other non-Frozen fanfictions that I plan on writing, and I even have an original fiction novel under my belt that I want to finish. But who knows? Come to think of it, I never really did get to a chapter about Merlin, even though the sisters have mentioned him several times throughout my chappies…now there's an idea.**

 **Right. I think I'll shut up now and let time determine what I'll think up of next.**

 **I sincerely hope you enjoyed this!**

 **Best regards,**

 **KoolKat189**


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